There will be Classic. Again. It will be a new chapter of an eternal rivalry, the one in which the two best teams in the history of Spanish basketball play in a sustained and permanent way.. In a historic comeback, both in the fifth game and in the entire tie, Real Madrid eliminated Partizan after starting the series losing 0-2, something that had never happened in the Euroleague. Barça had it easier: eliminated Zalgiris on the fast track, in three games. That will be, of course, one of the many determining factors in a new duel in the firmament, a Clásico that will make sparks fly. The break in the tight schedule, as well as the talent of the players, the decision making or the blackboards of Chus Mateo and Sarunas Jasikevicius will make the balance lean towards one side or the other. All this and much more in another life-or-death encounter that could be, like all those that face these two teams, epic.
The Whites, who have passed the herculean test of Partizan, the best team of the last two months in the Euroleague, start with a bit of a disadvantage in terms of favouritism… but he has a history that is favorable to him, the following may not be less. In this 21st century, Real Madrid and Barcelona have met three times at this point in the course and the result is 100% favorable for Real… although in no case did it bring them luck in the final. In 2013, in London, they won 67-74 and Olympiacos were their executioner two days later; in 2014, in Milan, they won by a resounding 62-100 and then fell against Maccabi Tel Aviv; and in 2022, in Belgrade, the result was 83-86. Anadolu Efes, which hasn’t even reached the playoffs this year, took victory in the title match. With Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin, of course, great heroes.
The confrontation will take place at the Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas (Lithuania) on Friday, May 19, at 8:00 p.m. It will be the second semifinal (the first is at 5:00 p.m.). There, two teams with pending accounts will face each other. They have met five times this season, with three victories for Barça: the initial duel of the Super Cup was won by the whites, who then fell in the first duel of both in the Euroleague and in the two that they have played in the ACB. The second assault in the maximum continental competition was for the whites, who are third in the Endesa League (25-6) after Baskonia… and Barcelona itself, which leads it. Both, from Vitoria and Catalans, with a 26-5. Apart from the Super Cup, neither Mateo’s men nor Saras’ men have won any title this season, since in the Copa del Rey they said goodbye before their time: the blaugranas against Unicaja in the quarterfinals and Real Madrid against the same rival in semifinals, avoiding the Malaga a new Classic that never happened.
a titanic duel
El Clásico will take place in the Euroleague: on day D and hour H. On May 19, Real Madrid, the second team that has scored the most in the regular season, will face Barça, whose goal is success that has eluded it in recent years, in 2021 in the final and last year in the aforementioned semifinals against the whites. There will be Nikola Mirotic, who dreams of a title that eluded him when he wore white and who averages 15.9 points per night with Barça. He will not be there to defend you Guerschon Yabusele, who will no longer play in Europe this year after the scandal in the form of a brawl organized in the second round of the series against Partizán. Neither did Gabriel Deck, who suffered a torn internal collateral ligament in his left knee. in the fourth match of the same tie. Nor Cory Higgins, who will undergo surgery to resolve his back problems.
It will be just one of the many problems that Chus Mateo will have to solve, which will be entrusted to Edy Tavares. His 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds, with spectacular dominance in both areas, are great numbers. And he leads the EuroLeague in blocks (2.2), showing enormous intimidation power. It will also be the day of Nicolás Laprovittola, Tomas Satoransky, Mario Hezonja and Dzanan Musa. And be careful with that old Madrid guard (Sergio Llull, Sergio Rodríguez and Rudy Fernández) who is in all of them and propelled Madrid against Partizán in the fifth and final assault. A Classic, another one, to decide who will go to the final of the Final Four. Who will have the opportunity to fight for a title that the whites have not won since 2018 and the blaugranas since 2010. There is a desire to repeat. It will be a Classic in the firmament. The mother of all Classics.