Real Madrid sweeps Barcelona for title
2015 will be a year to remember for Real Madrid fans as the Spanish club clinched the Spanish Liga Endesa title just a month after winning the Euroleague. The club’s 32nd title success will be all the sweeter as once again it came at the expense of bitter rival (and defending champs) FC Barcelona. Los Blancos have looked comfortable throughout the finals series and dealt with their Catalan opponents 85-90 in Barcelona to sweep the championship run 3-0.
Recent years have been relatively lean for Real Madrid, the club has one just one other ACB title in the last seven seasons and has had to watch Barcelona dominate the modern era of Spanish hoops. However, with the 2015 Liga Endesa crown and the Euroleague there are signs of a new era of success in the Spanish capital, especially as Real claimed an historic four trophies this season with the Spanish Super Cup and Spanish Cup also won.
Barcelona had a do or die contest if they were to remain in the title hunt, but in the first quarter the hosts could not get ahead and eventually the period was tied 17-17. Barca’s hopes took a big hit in the second frame as Real Madrid drained 31 points to 17 and took a big 34-48 lead into the halftime break. The Catalan giant was rocking, but Barcelona put in one of the best quarters of the season in the third act, using a 33-17 run to turn the game around. After leading by 14 at halftime, Madrid found itself losing 67-65 through thirty minutes. The guests quickly recovered in the fourth stanza and found another gear to win the quarter 18-25 and ensure the Liga Endesa title moves to Madrid.
Jaycee Carroll set the scoring pace for Los Blancos with 19 points, while Andres Nocioni and Sergio Rodriguez hit 11 points apiece. Jonas Maciulis and Sergio Llull added 10 points each to the winning effort. A collective scoring effort brought the title to Madrid as the team shot an impressive 60.9% from downtown, pouring in 14 hits from beyond the arc. Llull was named the finals MVP for his impressive form on the title run in.
Barca’s title defence crumbled at the last hurdle, but plenty of the roster put in a shift to fight back into the game. Ante Tomic was huge as he amassed 29 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Alex Abrines with 16 points, and Justin Doellman with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Tomas Satoransky and Brad Oleson rounded out the double digit scorers by splitting 20 points.