By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
It’s been a while but Real Madrid is back for good. After the first “Clasico” in a Euroleague Final Four the team of coach Laso got the 74-67 win over Barcelona and the ticket to the Final. Eighteen years after its last Euroleague trophy the Spanish powerhouse will have the chance to get its record ninth Euroleague title.
It will not be an easy task against the defending champions Olympiacos, but Real was build in order to win and did exactly that on Friday. It wasn’t easy, thought. Barcelona owned the first and the third quarter (partial scores 18-11 and 18-9), but Real was great in the second and the fourth (partial scores 28-15 and 26-16) and finished strong with captain Felipe Reyes scoring 17 points and former NBAer Sergio Rodriguez (photo) having almost a double double with 12 points and 9 assist without a turnover.
Barcelona did had injury problems and Nate Jawai played only for 2 minutes. As a result, despite the valiant effort of Ante Tomic (18 p., 12 r.) and Marcelinho Huertas (19 p.), the absence of fresh legs was evident in the closing minutes with Real making all the big shots. The game was tied four minutes before the end (63-63), but Barca couldn’t keep up with Madrid getting a 69-63 lead after a 17-2 run.