Spanish SuperCup: Barcelona outlasts Real Madrid, advances to final
The final of the Spanish SuperCup has been locked after an exciting day of semifinal action on Friday. Contesting the showpiece game on the weekend will be Gran Canaria Las Palmas and FC Barcelona Lassa after both came through tricky last four encounters.
Basketball fans were treated to a preseason El Clasico as Barcelona met Real Madrid in the semifinal of the Spanish SuperCup. When these two giants and longstanding rivals meet, the term preseason friendly really needs to be in quotation marks, “preseason friendly”. Simply put, the legacy of this rivalry is seething hatred of one another, so this was an El Clasico in every sense of the term.
Barcelona took the spoils this time and claim the bragging rights until the clubs meet again during the season. The Catalan giant dropped nearly a century of points on its way to a 93-99 victory. Of course, Real Madrid salvaged its season with a domestic double last season. Los Blancos won the Spanish cup and league after yielding its 2015 Euroleague title too easily.
Barcelona has far more to prove this season, the 2015/2016 campaign was a disappointment domestically and on the continent. A season before the season proper gets underway is the perfect way to suggest Barca will be there or there about this season. New signing Tyrese Rice looks as game changing as it suggests as he nailed 30 points in this game and dished 6 assists. Victor Claver came through with 16 points, Ante Tomic scored 14 and Justin Doellman 11 points for the winners.
While Barcelona’s roster is excited, it is also still gelling. Real Madrid has a much more stable outfit, and it was some familiar faces who paced Los Blancos in this defeat. Sergio Llull plundered 27 points and Rudy Fernandez struck 15 points.
Madrid was actually leading by 8 points during the third act, but Barcelona sprung a 0-14 run that turned the game on its head. With the momentum with the Catalan, the fourth quarter went to Barca, despite Madrid wrestling the lead back twice.