In the 100% Spanish duel of this Final Four 2023, Real Madrid won against Barcelona (78-66). After a complicated first half, the people of Madrid were patient and overtook their Barcelona rivals thanks to a good second part of the match. Chus Mateo’s men qualify for the Euroleague 2023 final, where they will meet Olympiakos.
Decidedly, the two best enemies of Spanish basketball no longer leave each other. While they have already faced each other five times this season, Barcelona and Real Madrid had an appointment in the semi-finals of this Euroleague Final Four. In the remake of last season’s game at the same stage of the competition, Real Madrid once again got the better of Barcelona (78-66). Despite the absences of Guerschon Yabusele, Gabriel Deck and Vincent Poirier, the people of Madrid hung on and delivered a solid second half to join Olympiakos in the final on Sunday.
Not scared by the stakes, Real Madrid started their match with a bang. As against Partizan Belgrade, the omnipresence of Walter Tavares (10 points in the first 10 minutes of the match) in the racket allowed his team to take the advantage (10-3). Concentrated, the Barcelonians did not panic and found excellent three-point shots thanks to their collective play to take the advantage before seeing the people of Madrid come back at the end of the quarter (18-18).
The Barça collective at the rendezvous in the first half
Boosted by an incisive Rokas Jokubaitis in front of the Lithuanian public, Barça gradually took over Fabien Causeur and his teammates (25-30). Despite the efforts of Mario Hezonja or Nigel Williams-Goss, it took a big three-point shot from Sergio Llull in the last seconds of half-time for Real to limit the damage when returning to the locker room (36-42) . Untouchable at long distance in this first half (9 out of 14, or 64%), the Barcelona collective compensated for the scarcity of Nikola Mirotic (0 point in 12 minutes) in scoring.
Back on the floor with more intensity, the men of Chus Mateo tried to resume the game on their own. Helped by stray balls and missed shots from Barcelona (1 out of 7 in the middle of the third quarter), Real nibbled away until they regained the lead with a score of 15-0 (54-47)! Betrayed by an address that has fled them since half-time, the Blaugranas tried to come to their senses (58-55).
A more solid Real Madrid in the final minutes
The game got tougher as we approached the end of regulation time. This tension resulted in a succession of clumsiness on both sides with a score that was poorly fed for several minutes. As often in hot moments, Sergio Rodriguez came out of his box to unblock the situation with 7 points in a row and always impeccable management (69-61). The Laprovittola-Abrines duo (28 points between them) tried to revive Barcelona but lacked success (73-66). Guided by a once again dominant Walter Tavares (20 points, 15 rebounds), Real Madrid overcame an unrecognizable Barcelona team in the second half (78-66).
Yet favorites, the team of Sarunas Jasikevicius once again broke their teeth on their Spanish rival this Friday evening. Unable to find offensive alternatives once their three-point address dropped, the Blaugranas had to bow to a Real team who were able to compensate for the absences with their combativeness. On the verge of elimination in the previous round and long trailing this evening, the people of Madrid have once again demonstrated their mental solidity and will try to seek an 11th Euroleague this Sunday against Olympiakos. For Barcelona, it’s another failure on the continental scene and it will take another season to get a title that has eluded the club since 2010.
Boxscore Barcelone – Real Madrid / Calendrier Playoffs Euroleague
Photo: Walter Tavares, a titanic performance in the semi-finals (Euroleague)
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2023-05-19 20:29:21
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