Euroleague playoffs, Game 2: preview Barcelona - Real Madrid

A Barça-Madrid is always a special game, even placed two days alter the last one. Both teams will try to travel to the capital of Spain with the homecourt advantage. Regal Barcelona won the first game last Tuesday, in a game tighter than expected. 68-61 was the final result, with two star names for the Catalan team: Pete Mickael and Boniface N’Dong.

The Senegalese center said, after the first victory, that Barcelona is going to face the second game as if it was the first one. But the Xavi Pascual squad will have to jump into the court with the doubt of Terence Morris presence. American forward suffered a low back pain during the first match, and would make Jordi Trías, a marginal player in Pascual’s rotation, play more quality minutes than usual. Xavi Rabaseda, from affiliated team CB Cornellà, would get into the 12-player team.

Real Madrid was a tougher rival for Barcelona than in the last two games, but wasn’t enough to win in the Palau Blaugrana. With all his players healthy, the coach Ettore Messina will try to find a way to get over the Barça defence, maybe the best in Europe. To take control in the zone will be the key for the Italian coach, who couldn’t stop the great game of N’Dong last match. Sergi Vidal and Novica Velickovic, who didn’t play last match, could have minutes in Messina rotation.