BarcelonaThe reigning champion of the Endesa League is against the ropes. Madrid beat unbeaten Barça (81-66) and already dominate the Endesa League final 1-2. The white team took advantage of their dominance in the rebound to get the victory at the WiZink Center and place themselves in a title win.
The match was a continuation of the first, especially in terms of white physical superiority. Madrid took advantage of Barça’s 19 turnovers and their dominance in the offensive rebound to add a victory with great authority. “We played as if it were just any match. We have to fight for our lives,” Sarunas Jasikevicius said. Kyle Kuric (15 points) was one of the few Catalans who competed well.
“We are playing very solidly against Barça, but we can’t trust them,” said Chus Mateo. Despite playing at home, Real Madrid returned to compete without Pablo Laso on the bench. Mateo once again took on the role of Basque coach, who is recovering from a heart attack. The assistant coach is doing a good job throughout the final, conveying confidence to a team that already relied on his knowledge. Guerschon Yabusele, who was not sanctioned, was able to play. Highly criticized by Real Madrid on Wednesday, the referees were once again the center of attention. Carlos Peruga, Benjamín Jiménez and Alberto Sánchez Sixto made the save, however.
Sarunas Jasikevicius changed their strategy. The coach of Dante Exum was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. The Australian was a starter, but was charged too soon with personal fouls; three in five minutes. The discarded player was Pierre Oriola, who continues to have discomfort in the lower back.
The third game started with inaccuracies from both teams. Too many nerves to be precise. Barça used the penetrations of Nick Calathes to follow the scoring pace of a Real Madrid that, despite not being successful from the three-point line, managed to accentuate the transition situations to close the first quarter with an advantage of five points (21-16).
Kyle Kuric’s outside goal encouraged the start of the second quarter, but Barça’s lost balls turned into a slab against a rival who always punishes them with good transitions. The Barça team squandered eleven possessions in the first 20 minutes against a Real Madrid that had more continuity and variety in its offensive production. He also dominated the offensive rebound. Local income grew to 10 points (46-36). Three free throws by Brandon Davies adjusted the score before the break (46-39).
Madrid reached a difference of 13 points (55-42). The worse the situation, the better Barça played, scoring a partial 0-8 to adjust the score and prevent the local team from getting a decisive difference (55-50). The difference in the offensive rebound was abysmal and the white team knew how to use it to reach the last ten minutes with a very favorable score (66-53).
Far from reacting, Barça continued to lose balls against Madrid, who were fed up with scoring on second chances. The difference grew to 19 points seven minutes from the end (72-53), when the Catalan team threw in the towel.
Sunday, first ‘match ball’
The fourth match of the final, scheduled for the best of five matches, will be played this Sunday (6pm, #Vamos) at the WiZink Center in Madrid. If necessary, the fifth duel of this title fight is scheduled for Wednesday next week at the Palau Blaugrana.
