2023-05-19 22:31:41
The most important Clásico of the season, just like a year ago, went to Real Madrid. Chus Mateo’s team confidently beat a Barça that only worked in the first two quarters. El Chacho again, Tavares again, the defense again… they were decisive for the whites to meet Olympiacos in the final. Madrid will look for the Eleventh against the Greeks in what will be the repeat of the 2013 final.
Barça reached the Final Four as the team with the most aim in Europe. And he ratified it in the first two quarters with an extraordinary outside success. From a more than remarkable 40.8 percent during the course, he shot up to a dizzying 9/14 (64.3) in the first two sets. The rotundity of those numbers contrasted with the equality with which the intermission was reached. Among the protagonists of Barcelona was not Nikola Mirotic. Chus Mateo opted for the ownership of Ndiaye. And the youth squad player repeated the experience he had lived through in the fifth game against Partizan. There he had a snack at Leday, here he deactivated the biggest Barca threat. Madrid was more consistent from the start because Barça only used the shot from three as an argument. With Tavares as the beginning and end of everything (10 points without shooting errors and 6 rebounds in the first quarter), Chus Mateo’s team had Barça controlled despite the success of their shooters.
Madrid was even able to allow itself the luxury of giving its most decisive player a truce of almost seven minutes. Sanli could not with Tavares. Neither did Veseley. Until Nnaji appeared, the Cape Verdean ruled from within. Barça began to command because the success from distance did not decrease, Abrines and Kuric were joined by Kalinic and Laprovittola, and Jasikevicius’s team found easier ways to score with Satoransky and Jokubaitis. It is not that Madrid defended the triples badly. No way! It is that the point of view of Barcelona was very fine-tuned (40-31). Llull was in charge of reducing damage with one of his classic three-pointers before the break (42-36).
Mirotic smiled before the game resumed. He had no reason and confirmed it in the third quarter. With the game getting serious, he still didn’t score. He kept shooting and kept missing: 0/8 shooting from the field and -7 efficiency. Madrid found Tavares again and Barça’s aim ran out. From the scandalous numbers of the first two quarters, they went to 3/11 in the third. Abrines’ fourth foul deepened the problems in attack for the Catalans. In Madrid, without excessive fluidity, Tavares found the help of Williams-Goss, Hezonja and Musa (47-54). Jasikevicius was desperate on the bench and only two hits from Kuric and Laprovittola prevented Barça’s crisis from escalating before the final stretch.
The traffic jam multiplied in the first four minutes of the last quarter. A triple by Laprovittola was the only basket in that stretch. With the match balanced (58-58), Chus Mateo gave the team handle to “Chacho”. It was the formula for the fifth game against Partizan. Next to him were Rudy and Llull. And “Chacho” took over and history began to repeat itself. Two easy baskets, a couple of free throws and a triple in less than a minute and a half for Madrid to take off (60-67 at 4:35). The blaugrana alarm caused that Mirotic, at least, will try to appear. His match had been a drama. He scored his first point at 4:20 from the end, the first basket at stake at 2:50 … when Barça was already beginning to bleed (63-73 at 1:30). The game was in the hands of Chacho and Tavares, in attack and defense. Good for Madrid. Barcelona ran out of arguments and the end of the whites was even placid. Olympiacos is the last obstacle before the Eleventh.
66. Barcelona (18+24+13+11): Satoransky (7), Laprovittola (9), Abrines (16), Mirotic (1) and Sanli (0) -starting five- Vesely (4), Kalinic (6), Martínez (0), Kuric (11), Jokubaitis ( 6) and Nnaji (1).
78. Real Madrid (18+18+22+20): Williams-Goss (10), Hanga (0), Musa (7), Ndiaye (2) and Tavares (20) – the starting quintet – Hezonja (14), Rodriguez (12), Causeur (0), Rudy (2), Randolph (6) and Llull (5).
Referees: Pukl (Esl), Mogulkoc (Tur) and Difallah (Fra). Eliminated Sanli.
Incidences: 13,848 spectators at the Zalgirio Arena. Match corresponding to the second semifinal of the Final Four.
Semifinals: Olympiacos, 76-Monaco, 62 and Barcelona, 66-Real Madrid, 78.
Final: Olympiacos-Real Madrid (Sunday 21, 7:00 p.m., Dazn).
Third and fourth place: Monaco-Barcelona (Sunday 21, 4:00 p.m., Dazn).
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