Tomorrow last act of the Euroleague: the Catalans finished ahead in the regular season, but Ataman’s team won both direct clashes
The Euroleague final will be Barcelona-Efes. The dream of Olimpia Milano stopped in the semifinals, the red and white fans only have a bitter taste in their mouth: Ettore Messina’s men lost in the sprint, 84-82, with Higgins’ decisive basket less than a second from ‘overtime. The Armani Exchange will now play the final for the 3rd / 4th place against CSKA Moscow, but clearly the spotlight is on the match from which the 2020/21 Euroleague winner will come out: duo at 20.30 tomorrow between Barcelona and Efes.
THE SEMIFINALS
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Net of the final thrill, the Catalans have respected the favors of the prediction: the team of Sarunas Jasikevicius has in fact closed the regular season in first place, with the same record of CSKA eliminated in the semifinals by Efes. The Turkish team finished third in the regular season and earned the final act by beating the Russian battleship 89-86, in the rematch of the 2019 final. Two heart-pounding semi-finals, point to point and uncertain until the siren. The best show you can ask for in basketball.
THE NUMBERS
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Barcelona therefore finished up front in the standings, but Efes won both direct matches in the regular season: 86-79 on December 22 in Istanbul, 86-88 on February 4 in Catalonia. Also considering last season, there are three consecutive victories for the Turks against the Blaugrana. The balance from 2000 onwards is still in favor of Barcelona, even if the balance reigns: 12-11. Barça returns to the final eleven years after the last time: in 2010 they won, as well as in the previous final in 2003. Two out of two for the Catalans in the two most recent finals. For Efes this is the second consecutive final after that of 2019 (last year the competition was interrupted due to the pandemic): the Turkish club dreams of the first victory in the Euroleague. Barça can count on the best defense of the tournament, with an average of 73.2 points conceded per game. But Efes scored an average of 84.2 points per game in the competition against 80 for the Catalans.
May 29 – 16:27
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