ESP - Barca down rivals to lift cup

MALAGA (Copa del Rey) - Impressive Winterthur FC Barcelona led from start to finish as they downed eternal rivals Real Madrid 69-53 to win the Copa del Rey final on Sunday.

Madrid may be top dogs in the ACB, where they have won 18 of their 20 matches so far this season, but they were made to look second-rate by Barca in Malaga as another chance to win the Copa del Rey slipped from their grasp.

The capital club have not won the tournament since 1993, while they have now lost three of their four finals against arch-rivals Barca.

The last meeting between the two at this stage of the competition came in 2001 - ironically also in Malaga - when Pau Gasol inspired Barca to victory.

This time it was the likes of Jordi Trias, Jaka Lakovic and Juan Carlos Navarro who led the Catalan giants to glory.

Barca could hardly have a better start to the game, Lakovic pouring in two three-pointers in the opening four minutes to give his side an early 10-1 lead.

That gave Dusko Ivanovic’s side the perfect platform, and they continued to boss the opening period before finishing it 21-5 ahead.

A low-scoring second period then saw both sides add just 10 points to their respective totals as Barca, who are only sixth in the league with an 11-9 record, ended the first half 31-15 ahead.

Madrid tactician Joan Plaza, who was the only one of the eight coaches in this year’s competition never to have won the Copa del Rey, must have feared his hopes of a maiden cup success were slipping away at that point.

And the signs were not looking good for the ACB pacesetters when Barca further extended their advantage to 35-15 at the start of the third period.

But Madrid were not about to go down without a fight, and Axel Hervelle scored five successive points to spark a 12-2 run that saw Plaza’s men get to within 10 points of their opponents.

Another Hervelle treble with just seconds left in the third period then got Madrid to within nine points, but Barca sped down the other and Roko Ukic went aerial to score a remarkable buzzer-beating treble to cancel out Hervelle’s effort.

That basket seemed to galvanise Barca, while also setting Madrid back on their heels, and the Catalan outfit scored the first six points of the final quarter before running out comfortable winners.

Trias, who was named tournament MVP, had another fine game for Barca, pouring in 10 points, grabbing four rebounds, handing out four assists and blocking three shots.

He received good support from Lakovic, who added a game-high 16 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Navarro, who contributed 14 points, three rebounds and four assists in the victory.

For Madrid - who shot a dismal 13% from three-point range (four of 30) - Louis Bullock scored 15 points, while Hervelle added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Mike Perez
FIBA