By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The two bitter rivals of Spanish sports, Real Madrid and Barcelona, will face off one more time at the Supercup’s final. In Zaragoza, where Madrid won its last Euroleague title back in 1995, the season will start with a big game, even though Barcelona has its share of problems with Juan Carlos Navarro being out due to its chronic feet injury.
Without him and without veteran Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, Barca beat Valencia 77-63 which also didn’t have Thomas Kelati on the court for the second half, after hurting his knee. The main question for Barca now is if Saras will make an appearance in the final.
Madrid won 72-63 and was led by Bulls draft pick Nikola Mirotic who had 14 points and 11 rebounds against the host team, Zaragoza. The game was decided on the third quarter with a partial score of 22-9 in favor of Madrid. In a interesting note, former Zaragoza player, Brazilian center Rafael Hettsheimeir seems ready to sign a contract with Real Madrid.