10 Dec 2011

Fernandez heads back to NBA on high

12:29 pm on 10 December 2011

Rudy Fernandez will head back to the NBA in good spirits after Real Madrid treated him to a memorable farewell with an 88-64 rout of Maccabi Tel Aviv in their Euroleague basketball Group C match overnight.

The Spain forward joined Real Madrid, the winners of eight titles in Europe's premier basketball club competition, during the NBA lockout and made an instant impact.

He will join last season's NBA champions Dallas Mavericks - having spent three seasons with the Portland Trailblazers - after an emotional night in which Real outclassed old rivals and five-time Euroleague winners Maccabi.