‘Clasicazo’ to lead the Euroleague
Barça and Madrid live a duel at the top with casualties and shared morbid
BARCELONA, 9 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Barça receives Real Madrid this Friday at the Palau Blaugrana (9:00 p.m.), in a match on day 14 of the Regular Phase of the Euroleague, in a ‘Classic Euro’ for the leadership between two co-leaders in full winning streak and in a duel full of morbid and reunions on both sides.
A hot Clásico is expected at the Palau Blaugrana despite arriving in the cold December. Barça and Madrid are challenged, first and second in the table of this Regular Phase with a balance of 11-2 for both. Barça arrives with five consecutive victories and Madrid, with six.
Sarunas Jasikevicius doubts that Barça and Madrid are right now the best teams in this Euroleague but the truth is that looking at the numbers the affirmative bet seems safer: it is a ‘Clasicazo’ in a Palau that will seek to contribute to another magical night and help yours to retain the leadership, and that it is alone.
But Pablo Laso’s Real Madrid aspires to the same goal, who arrives at the Palau in very good shape, ready to win this first European duel and leave the house of his eternal rival looking at him in the rear-view mirror. The swords will be high, despite the casualties, in one of the best matches that can be seen.
Of course, there will be significant absences, especially on the Blaugrana side as they cannot count on Nick Calathes, Cory Higgins or Alex Abrines. At Real Madrid, Alberto Abalde, injured in the last victory against Maccabi of Tel Aviv (72-70), will be absent, as well as Trey Thompkins and Carlos Alocen.
The new face at Barça could be that of Dante Exum, an Australian guard who was without a team and who will play for the Blaugrana for the next three months, until February 28, 2022. Despite arriving this week, the bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 could debut.
On the track, the protagonists of the morbid will be. On the one hand, Thomas Heurtel and Adam Hanga will return to the Palau Blaugrana that they know so well dressed in white, with the unknown of how they will be received – especially an Adam Hanga who was much loved in Barcelona.
On the other hand, attacking and defending Heurtel will be Nicolás Laprovittola, who last year wore white and undertook the reverse path this past summer. In addition, Nikola Mirotic remains, despite his years in the NBA, a ‘former’ of Real Madrid and seen as a traitor in the Spanish capital.
Mirotic, who recognized in the preview that he usually has good games against Real Madrid despite not wanting to put extra pressure to play well in these duels, is Barça’s best player so far in the Euroleague and will have a nice face-to-face with Guerschon Yabusele, author of 15 points in the white victory against Maccabi.
And if Laprovittola and Heurtel will be seen in the base position and Hanga should be paired with Kyle Kuric or Nigel Hayes, in the center position sparks will jump between Walter Tavares or Vincent Poirier and Brandon Davies and Sertac Sanli, who has just scored his maximum of 24 points in the Euroleague in Barça’s win away from the current winner Anadolu Efes (93-95).
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
BARÇA: Laprovittola, Kuric, Hayes-Davis, Mirotic and Sanli –possible initial quintet–; Davies, Martinez, Smits, Orihuela, Jokubaitis, Caicedo, Exum.
REAL MADRID: Heurtel, Hanga, Taylor, Yabusele and Tavares -possible starting five-; Williams-Goss, Causeur, Fernández, Vukcevic, Poirier, Llull.
– REFEREES: Radovic, Petek and Nikolic.
– PAVILION: Palau Blaugrana.