When Real Madrid was behind 2:0 against Partizan Belgrade in the playoff quarter-final series, almost no one believed that they were able to come back to 2:3 for the first time in the history of the Euroleague. Everyone, except Real Madrid. Tonight (Friday), the Blancos showed again that they simply cannot be eulogized and at the end of a tremendous evening that also included a comeback, they defeated Barcelona and Charas 66:78 and qualified for the Euroleague final, where Olympiakos awaits them for a huge battle in the first.
Beyond ability, this game showed how much character Real players have. The first half was dominated by Barcelona, who simply did not stop scoring three points, but as soon as Charas’s apprentices lost their lethal weapon, it turned out to be basically all they had to offer, while on the other hand Real Arba, as they know how, managed to take advantage of the unwise style of play of the Catalans, who suffered Also a terrible evening by Nikola Mirotic, who finished with only three points.
Two players beat the orchestra at Real Madrid. The first, the best center in Europe, Walter Tavares. It wasn’t just the 20 points he scored, but also 15 rebounds and 4 blocks in money time that killed any possible hope for Barcelona to come back. The second is Sergio Rodriguez, who with nine points in the last quarter completely changed the direction of the game to one from which Barcelona was no longer able to return. Mario Zonia also had a fantastic night with 14 points. Real made it to the finals rightfully and as it looks, a particularly exciting battle awaits us between them and Olympiakos, who finished the regular season first, for the coveted trophy.
Scored for Real: Walter Tavares 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks, Mario Zonia 14 points and 9 rebounds, Sergio Rodriguez 12 points and 5 assists, Nigel Williams Goose 10, Danzan Musa 7, Anthony Randolph 6, Sergio Yule 5 , Eli Andieh and Rudy Fernandez 2 KA.
Scored for Barcelona: Alex Abrins 16 points, Nikolas Laprobitola 12, Kyle Curic 11, Tomas Saturnski 7 points and 11 rebounds, Nikola Kalinic and Rokas Jacobiitis 6 points, Jan Vesli 4 points and 6 rebounds, Nikola Mirotic 3, c James Nagy 1.
First quarter: 18:18
Barcelona’s top five: Tomas Saturnski, Nicolas Laprobitola, Alex Abrins, Nikola Mirotic and Sertach Sanli
Real Madrid five: Nigel Williams-Goss, Adam Hange, Dezanne Moussa, Eli Andia, Walter Tavares
The game started under the control of Real Madrid. The Blancos went up 0:6 after two and a half minutes thanks to four consecutive points by Walter Tavares who dominated under the basket, Alex Abrins stopped the drift with a three-pointer on the Barcelona side. But the Catalans had no answers against Tavares in the paint, when the center put Real up 3:10 with two accurate shots from the line. Barcelona’s answers were at this point outside the arc, when Saturnski got into things with a three-pointer of his own and reduced it to 10:6, after which another three-pointer by Abrins reduced it to only one point.
After Real’s timeout, Nikola Kalinic converted with another three (!), 11:12. And Barcelona did not stop. Abrins added a second three-pointer of his own and the Catalans’ fifth, but Williams-Goss gave the Blancos a three-pointer on the other side, 14:15 to Barca. Tavares was Real’s only answer, but Barcelona just didn’t stop and scored all their points from three, with Kalinic adding another one, 16:18. The quarter ended tied at 18 after Walter Tavares completed a 10-point quarter with two more under the basket.
Second quarter 36:42 to Barcelona
The trend of close play continued at the start of the second quarter. After Iakubiitis gave Barcelona the lead with a nice drive to the basket, Rudy Fernandez took advantage of a loose ball on the other side, but Barcelona were simply unstoppable from the three and Kyle Coric made it 22:25, when Iakubiitis later scored from half distance to give Barca a record lead of 5, 22:27, Jose Mateo took a timeout.
Sergio Rodriguez scored a three-pointer after the timeout, but Coric added another of his own, 25:30. Real chased after Barcelona and the entry of Tavares from the bench added a lot to it, Mario Zonia shrunk to 33:29. But Barcelona kept going. Anthony Randolph still managed to shrink after another three-pointer, this time by Laprobitola, but later Satronsky and Jan Wesley who got involved made it 31:40. After Anthony Randolph Zimek, Thomas Saturnski made a great pass to the basket, but the quarter ended with a big 3-pointer by Sergio Yule that kept Real in the game heading into the second half.
Third quarter 55:58 for Real
Nikola Mirotic didn’t have a good evening in terms of shooting at least in the first half, but after the quarter opened with Mario Zonia’s three-pointer, his good defense allowed Alex Abrins easy points on the way to 39:44. Real didn’t stop missing from the three and on the other hand, Barca didn’t stop scoring, when Lafrobitola scored the Catalans’ tenth three-pointer. On the other hand, Tavares continued to be the main executor of the Blancos, when he scored and then missed from the line, but a foul by Sanelli in the fight for the rebound allowed Hezonia to score twice and reduce the score to 47:43. Adam Hanga committed an unsportsmanlike foul, but Jan Wesley missed twice from the line and Barcelona lost the ball On the other side, Tavares hit twice from the line and reduced it to only two, 47:45. The centre-back’s display continued with two more, with Musa giving the Blancos the lead afterwards.
The momentum has completely reversed. Barcelona didn’t stop missing and William Goss’ three-pointer increased the lead to seven, but Jan Wesley reduced it to 54:49 with two under the basket. Coric scored a third hat-trick to get Barca back in the game, but William Goss didn’t let Barcelona get too close. Only the three-pointers kept Barca in the picture and one more from Laprobitola reduced Real’s advantage to only three heading into the last quarter.
fourth quarter
The last quarter started with great aggression from both teams. Real had a hard time scoring, but Barcelona, on the other hand, didn’t stop throwing three-pointers, when at the beginning of the quarter, Lafraivtola scored his fourth three-pointer. But Real woke up in time and four consecutive points by Sergio Rodrigues brought it up to 58:62. Abrins hit twice from the line, but a personal 2:9 run by Rodrigues including a big 3-pointer made it 60:67. Barcelona completely lost it and a tremendous header from Tavares prevented them from coming back. After that, Zonia’s 3-pointer increased the difference to ten points and closed the matter for good.
