FCBARCELONA.CAT

05.06.2007 13:59

Two ex-Barça players in NBA Final

www.fcbarcelonca.cat

One former Barça player will be collecting an NBA winner’s medal this year, either Anderson Varejao of Cleveland or Francisco Elson of San Antonio.

Brazilian star Varejao has made it into the last two with the Cavaliers, having played for Barça from the 2001-02 until the 2004-05 season, before moving across the Atlantic.

Varejao has played a central role in the Cavaliers’ rise to success this year, appearing in 81 games, averaging 23.9 minutes, 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds, form he carried into the end season, where in 16 appearances he has averaged 21.8 minutes, 5.6 points and 6.1 rebounds.

Elson more prominent in regular season

Paco Elson played for FC Barcelona in the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons, but before jetting off to the San Antonio Spurs, he played at Pamesa Valencia (2001-02), Caja San Fernando (2002-03) and the Denver Nuggets (2003-06). In his first season at the Spurs he played in 70 regular season games, averaging 19 minutes, 5 points and 4.8 rebounds. In the play-offs however, despite featuring in 16 games, he has been averaging 11.5 minutes, 3.1 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Varejao: "Beating Detroit was not easy "

Anderson Varejao told fcbarcelona.cat how it feels to be on the way to an NBA Finals appearance after a long and difficult season. “I am very happy to have made it into the NBA Finals” he said. “It has been a tough season for us but we got better as the play offs approached. Beating a team like Detroit after going 2-0 down was very difficult.”

But he is now “confident we can win the NBA. We have one of the best players in the NBA, LeBron James, who is able to do the impossible. A lot of people are comparing him to Michael Jordan and I think he is the player most like him. The Cavaliers will compete to the maximum and I think we have a very good chance. San Antonio are a good side, but if we play the way we know we can, we can win. The key is winning a game in San Antonio".

Still with an eye on Barça

Varejao may be in the US now, but he still follows Winterthur FC Barcelona’s fortunes “by Internet and though ex-colleagues. In know this has been a tough season because they started irregularly, but they won the Cup and have won a road game in Vitoria. I’m sure they will play in the final and wish them all the best.”