In highly anticipated matchup, it was another chapter in el Clasico story, as Real Madrid faced Barcelona in the final of this year’s Copa del Rey in Gran Canaria.
Real Madrid was able to maintain calm in the final moments as they edged out Barcelona 77-71.
It was a close game throughout, as both teams had their fair share of leads in this back-and-forth affair. In the key moments of the fourth quater, Xavi Pascual went with the different lineup than usual, benching both of his point guards Tomas Satoransky and Marcelinho Huertas with Brad Oleson as point guard along with veteran Juan Carlos Navarro and maturing youngster Alex Abrines sharing the backcourt.
Unfortunaetly for the Catalans, that lineup failed to give them a spark, as Navarro struggled, shooting only 2/8 from the field.
Real relied on a buzzer-beater from Sergio Llull to win the Copa last year in Malaga. This year, they were safe in the last ten seconds.
Sergio Rodriguez was the one with the dagger this time, as he scored a layup to put Real up four with 7 seconds left in the game.
Abrines was the one with the final heave, but he failed to hit a quick three and Real Madrid players started to celebrate their successful defense of Copa del Rey title
Rudy Fernandez led Real with 16 points in this contest. He was also awarded as MVP of the tournament, averaging 14.7 points 5 rebounds, 4.7 assists.
Ante Tomić carried Barcelona with another double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds.
