Barcelona knocks off Madrid for its 17th Spanish League crown
Barcelona beat Real Madrid in four games
FC Barcelona captured the Spanish ACB League championship on Thursday following an 83-81 victory over archrival Real Madrid to claim the best-of-five series in four games. Juan Carlos Navarro, who scored 14 points in Game 4, was named MVP of the series. Ante Tomic totaled 22 points and 9 rebounds for Barcelona, which added its 17th league championship to its packed trophy case. Bostjan Nachbar and Brad Oleson netted 10 each and Marcelinho Huertas cooked up 9 points and 7 assists. Rudy Fernandez paced Madrid with 13 points, Ioannis Bourousis added 12, Felipe Reyes and Nikola Mirotic had 11 apiece and Salah Mejri registered 10 in defeat. Huertas scored once and assisted twice in a 7-0 spurt that gave Barca a 14-7 lead; Madrid’s guards kept the visitors in the picture, down 25-19 through 10 minutes. Three baskets by Reyes helped trim the gap to 30-27, however a pair of Alex Abrines threes and a Tomic basket soon gave the hosts a 9-point cushion. Huertas remained integral to Barcelona’s success with a three-pointer and an assist to Tomic for a 45-33 lead. Bourousis scored half Los Blancos’ points in a 0-8 response as Madrid closed to within 47-42 at halftime. Tremmell Darden’s basket plus foul drew Madrid within a basket early in the third quarter, however Tomic scored 5 in a 9-0 run that put the hosts back in control. Barcelona entered the fourth quarter ahead 65-57. Sergio Llull rallied Madrid to within 71-67 after 6 straight points. A three-point play from Mirotic drew Madrid within 1 with four minutes to go. Bourousis tied the game at 76-76 heading into the final minute, but Barcelona’s Maciej Lampe nailed a three from the corner for his first points of the game. Darden kept Madrid alive with a big three with 6 seconds left to make it 81-79, but Oleson iced the game, series and championship from the line.
FC Barcelona hit 16 three-pointers, leading from start to finish and downing Real Madrid 94-79 in Game 3 of their best-of-five Spanish League finals for 2-1 series lead. Barcelona is now a victory away from the title. Hitting 10 triples in the first half, 5 apiece in each quarter, the hosts pulled away early and held control throughout the contest. Bostjan Nachbar hit back-to-back triples in the opening minutes, before Juan Carlos Navarro and Marcelinho Huertas soon joined in with a long range barrage. Nachbar's third shot from downtown helped Barcelona to its first double-digit advantage, 27-17, and the hosts held 31-20 after the first quarter. Brad Oleson connected three times from downtown early in the second, making it 40-26, but Madrid rallied through Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez, who got the visitors within 42-36. However, that's as close as Barcelona allowed them to get. Maciej Lampe hit a pair of three-pointers, extending it to 52-40 at halftime, and back-to-back triples from Navarro and Kostas Papanikolaou made it 58-42 early in the third. Nikola Mirotic, Ioannis Bourousis and Llull tried to get Madrid back in the game, but Barcelona never looked back. Another three from Papanikolaou helped extend it to 80-63 after 30 minutes, and Navarro's basket broke the 20-point barrier with 7 minutes to go, as the hosts cruised to victory, finishing the game 16-for-28 from behind the arc. Navarro paced the winners with 19 points, Oleson netted 15, and Nachbar scored 14. The trio combined to bury 10 three-pointers. Huertas had 12 points with 8 assists, and Papanikolaou also scored 12 in victory. Llull finished with 15 for Madrid, Jaycee Carroll collected 13 points plus 8 rebounds, Bourousis also scored 13, and Mirotic added 11 in defeat.
FC Barcelona hit 16 three-pointers, leading from start to finish and downing Real Madrid 94-79 in Game 3 of their best-of-five Spanish League finals for 2-1 series lead. Barcelona is now a victory away from the title. Hitting 10 triples in the first half, 5 apiece in each quarter, the hosts pulled away early and held control throughout the contest. Bostjan Nachbar hit back-to-back triples in the opening minutes, before Juan Carlos Navarro and Marcelinho Huertas soon joined in with a long range barrage. Nachbar's third shot from downtown helped Barcelona to its first double-digit advantage, 27-17, and the hosts held 31-20 after the first quarter. Brad Oleson connected three times from downtown early in the second, making it 40-26, but Madrid rallied through Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez, who got the visitors within 42-36. However, that's as close as Barcelona allowed them to get. Maciej Lampe hit a pair of three-pointers, extending it to 52-40 at halftime, and back-to-back triples from Navarro and Kostas Papanikolaou made it 58-42 early in the third. Nikola Mirotic, Ioannis Bourousis and Llull tried to get Madrid back in the game, but Barcelona never looked back. Another three from Papanikolaou helped extend it to 80-63 after 30 minutes, and Navarro's basket broke the 20-point barrier with 7 minutes to go, as the hosts cruised to victory, finishing the game 16-for-28 from behind the arc. Navarro paced the winners with 19 points, Oleson netted 15, and Nachbar scored 14. The trio combined to bury 10 three-pointers. Huertas had 12 points with 8 assists, and Papanikolaou also scored 12 in victory. Llull finished with 15 for Madrid, Jaycee Carroll collected 13 points plus 8 rebounds, Bourousis also scored 13, and Mirotic added 11 in defeat.
E. Carchia
@Sportando
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