Barcelona – Real Madrid

ACB League Finals Game 1
Barcelona, June 16, 21:00 CET

The biggest Spanish rivals are in the race for the title of the continent's best national league - enough to know that the duel between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the ACB League finals will be a spectacle.
It is clear that Barcelona, who will have the home field advantage, will be under more pressure. Whatever the outcome of the final, it has been a successful season for Real Madrid, as Los Blancos won the Euroleague last month in a dramatic finish.
On the other hand, Barcelona disappointed in the Euroleague and this final is a chance for redemption for the team of the legend of European basketball, coach Sharunas Jasikevicius.
Their previous matches are proof that the teams will not give up their attacking style of play. Against Unicaja Malaga in the semi-finals, at least 162 points were scored in each of Barcelona's games (and usually drastically more). When it comes to Real Madrid, this team scored 93, 90, 83 and 94 points in the semi-final against Juventud Badalona.
Barcelona was limited offensively against Real Madrid in the Euroleague semifinal loss on May 19 (78:66 in Kaunas, Lithuania). Since then, they have significantly improved their efficiency and are much pore precise than they were a month ago.
When it comes to head-to-head matches, on April 16, Barcelona beat their biggest rival by as much as 97:82 on their home field in the ACB league. It was also one of the best offensive editions of coach Jasikevicius' players. Before that, on January 26, they were defeated 91:86 away from home (Euroleague), and on January 2, they celebrated in Madrid in the ACB league, 87:78.
Barca is a slight favorite in this match. Some players are expected to perform with an exceptional motive. First of all, the first scorer, power forward Nikola Mirotic - for whom these are certain to be the last matches in the Barcelona jersey and in the ACB league, before moving to Armani Milano.
In the previous victory against Unicaja in Malaga in semifinals, Mirotic scored 14 points. Playmaker Satoransky played an extremely important role - the Czech had 12 points and four rebounds. Much of Barcelona's chances in this final will depend on his play, as well as on center Jan Vesely (eight points and nine rebounds in Malaga).
In the semi-finals of the Euroleague, it was obvious that Jan Vesely had not sufficiently recovered from injury. This is not the case now and his contribution is expected to significantly improve Barcelona's attacking game.
Of course, the relieved Real Madrid has exceptional assets, their zone defense is still a big problem for opponents. Although Barcelona is the favorite, the triumph of the hosts cannot be easily predicted. It is easier to expect an extremely efficient duel from both teams, even in the case of exciting final minutes - with many free throws.
In the last victory of Real Madrid over Juventud 94:73, in the match played on June 12, as many as four players scored at least 14 points. This is a team that can punish opponents in various ways and has been extremely effective for three months now. Of course, the key player is center Walter Tavares, who in addition to nine points in that last game had 10 rebounds and three assists.
In the 40 years since the founding of the ACB League, Real has 14 and Barcelona 16 championship titles. Last year in the final series it was 3-1 for Real against the same, biggest opponent. There is no reason for the teams not to repeat the basketball at the level of that last year's spectacle.