FCBARCELONA.CAT

24.06.2007 20:50

The ACB title goes to Madrid (71-82)

Carles Cascante

Real Madrid are ACB League champions after winning the fourth game of the final play-offs in the Palau Blaugrana. Barça were unable to reproduce the form they showed in the third game.

It wasn’t to be. After an incredible final sprint in the play-offs, in which the basketball squad coached by Dusko Ivanovic raised their game to great heights, Winterthur FC Barcelona were unable to stop a Real Madrid side that produced their best performance of the final pay-offs. The Madrid defence, the rebound, Madrid steals and, above all, the 21 points scored by Felipe Reyes, were sufficient to decide the 2006-07 ACB League title.

A balanced start

The fourth game of the series started very differently from the third. Real Madrid showed greater concentration and, in Felipe Reyes, had the most dangerous man on court. However, Barça were also looking good, especially Jaka Lakovic and Navarro. The game was being played at a pretty fast pace and the shooting accuracy of both teams passed the 70% mark. Mario Kasun also caught the eye for good and for bad in the opening minutes, scoring four consecutive points but committing two consecutive fouls.

Real Madrid take the lead

The second period couldn’t have begun better for Real Madrid. The seventh ball lost by Barça in the opening eleven minutes – this time by Roger Grimau – led to a Madrid attack that was finished off by USA star Charles Smith with a three-pointer, giving his side a 13-point lead (24-37). Reyes continued to shine and Barça, despite circulating the ball well, suffered from some inaccurate shooting. Things went from bad to worse as Barça persisted in losing the ball and failing to score, added to which Kasun picked up his fourth personal foul. At the break, 33-47.

Half-hearted reaction

Winterthur FC Barcelona came out after the break with a different defensive mentality. Despite an early three-pointer for Real Madrid, the visitors were hit by a 9-0 partial score of (42-52) with five minutes left in the third period. The Madrid defence, which had resisted so well in the first two periods, were put on the back foot by a Barça attack led by Grimau. On the downside for Barça, Lakovic picked up his fourth personal foul and the team began to slide again at the end of the third period (50-64).

The Barça players, particularly Lakovic and Roger Grimau, threw everything into the final period to try and cut Real Madrid’s lead. They managed to close the gap to just four points but a combination of cool heads among the visitors and the home side’s tiredness finally gave the league title to Real Madrid.