Carpena smiled at the whites, like four years ago, with a trophy that had been feeding their eternal rival
MÁLAGA, Feb. 19 (from the special envoy of EUROPA PRESS, Rodrigo Trascasa) –
The Copa del Rey basketball competition was again in its 88th edition between Real Madrid and Barça, after the surprise last year of a Unicaja that this time could not go far at home, in a Martín Carpena who allied himself with the whites as in 2020 giving them the title and leaving their eternal rival in the middle of a new project.
The team from the capital settled pending scores in the 'ko tournament' after four lost finals against Barça. Málaga, where it had won its last title in 2020, smiled at Real Madrid in the return of the Cup to the cajista pavilion, with the extra literary point of also awarding the MVP to Facundo Campazzo.
Thus, history repeated itself with Chus Mateo's team on the crest of the wave. “Thank God I have come to corroborate something that Real Madrid already had in its DNA,” said the coach who took on the challenge of taking charge of the best team in Europe after a glorious era with Pablo Laso (22 titles) at a press conference. in 11 seasons).
The change of cycle was not kind or easy, full of doubts about the man who had been the Basque's second coach. However, Mateo reconquered the Euroleague for the whites in his first season, five years later, and this Sunday reaffirmed the winning gene of the Madrid team by doing the same with a lately elusive Cup.
The whites triumphed in Malaga despite the fact that 2024 had put them to the test, although they always rowed calmly with the cushion of an almost perfect first stage. Losses due to injuries and the January slope became a take-off ramp in Carpena, where they signed three rounds with few cracks in champion mode.
UCAM Murcia could do nothing despite the fact that it gave some suspense in the second half and the victory was resounding against Valencia Basket, a team with fearsome muscle and a strong mentality as seen against Dreamland Gran Canaria in the quarterfinals. To top it all off, after losing the previous four against Barça, Real Madrid imposed its aggressiveness in defense and knew how to play better in the final.
Back in white this season and as if he hadn't left, Campazzo was MVP again, but the 'Best Player' of the tournament could be shared. “The final ended and we didn't know who was going to be the MVP,” said Mateo, proof that many things continue to work for the whites. Vincent Poirier was perhaps on par with the Argentine point guard, vital as he was last month due to the absence of Edy Tavares who paid for his inactivity and who did not even play in the decisive final quarter.
Now, the doubts that Mateo had to endure will have to continue to be carried by Grimau until he meets the requirement of enlarging the display cases. The former Barça captain increased the credit thanks to a promising 2024, but he did not finish putting away those doubts in the Cup, where Svetislav Pesic's Barça (2018 and 2019) and also Sarunas Jasikevicius's (2021 and 2022) were strong before.
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The culé team overwhelmed BAXI Manresa and, above all, Lenovo Tenerife with the best quarter in the history of the Cup (40 points). The Canaries had given the only shock of the tournament, the revenge of the last final by eliminating a strong defender of the title and host like Unicaja, but they suffered the flow of a grown Barça.
Grimau's team reached the final after 210 points and was stopped short. The Cup was left with no more surprises and was distributed again in the Classic, as in the 13 finals until last year in Badalona. At the moment of truth, the culé team was not up to the task and, in their bad mood, they attacked the referees, denouncing that the criteria when calling fouls favored the rival.
The truth is that Barça lacked hunger, something from Nico Laprovittola or Willy Hernangómez, two figures who represent Barça in its conversion, defense to the limit and the tranquility that a team with the urgency to win does not have. The last League title, in the farewell of Jasikevicius and a few leading players such as Nikola Mirotic, is far away for the Catalans.
At Carpena, Grimau's team suffered the loss of another final against Real Madrid. The Super Cup came very soon and, five months later, the Cup caught the Barça team at its best, but it did not take advantage of the opportunity. The winning DNA that Mateo said is maintained by Madrid and Barça will have the Málaga notch when both teams, surely, meet again in the fight for the League and perhaps also for the Euroleague.