Thumping victory in first semi-final Clásico

Real Madrid took the lead in the semi-finals of the league playoffs against Barcelona after convincingly winning the first clash of the series at the WiZink Center. The Whites displayed a hunger for victory and a cast-iron mentality. They picked themselves back up, just like champions do, to claim a great victory against the Catalans, who had come into the game considerably better rested. After seven spectacular minutes, between the second and third periods, the madridistas set themselves on track with a 31-7 run. Llull decided it with four straight three-pointers in the last quarter. Campazzo (20 points, 10 assists and 32 in PIR) and Tavares (18, 15 rebounds for 35) were the standout performers for Madrid. The two sides recommence battle at the same venue on Friday (8:30pm CEST).

Madrid began the Clásico with a pulsating pace. The Whites opened with 17 points in four minutes with almost 80% shooting success. Campazzo, who clearly edged out Satoransky, had a perfect quarter with 7 points without a miss and 4 assists. Barcelona struggled to hang in there, but Tavares and Hezonja's control of the rebounding allowed Madrid to run and break their defensive balance. A basket by Sergio Rodríguez rounded off a brilliant first quarter with the score at 24-14.

Madrid bounce back
Rubio and Da Silva gave the Catalans an extra boost, as they improved from their defensive alternations and capitalised on the following minutes when the shots stopped going in. The hosts had slowed down and that took its toll, as the visitors managed to take the lead at 30-31 in the 17th minute. But that was as good as it got for Barça, as the madridistas stemmed the visitors' momentum with another excellent final three minutes.

The Whites got back to basics, Campazzo grabbed command of the game again and with five points in a row triggered a 14-5 run for Madrid, with Tavares continuing to dominate in the paint (12+7 and 18 in PIR at half-time). Yabusele also took his share of the offensive load with eight points in the second quarter, including two three-pointers and a basket in the last second of the first half (44-36).

Madrid upped the pace at the restart and continued with the momentum from the end of the second quarter. They raised their intensity at the back and forced a lot of turnovers while limiting Barcelona, who were completely overrun. The hosts displayed the same attacking spark as in the start of the game, racking up 17 points in just over three minutes with the Argentinian point guard and Musa the main engineers. Meanwhile, Madrid made no concessions, limiting the opposition to two points. A 31-7 run between 17' and 24' took the lead to over 20 points at the midway point of the third quarter (61-38). Barcelona relied on Rubio and Laprovittola to reduce the deficit before going into the final period (72-62, min.30).

Llull seals victory
The game was now in Real Madrid's hands. Their dominance had been all but total, with the exception of two bursts from the visitors, but the clash had to be sealed in the final stretch. Parker put Barça back under the 10-point barrier at the start of the quarter and his team showed belief. But Llull had not had the last word. His emergence was decisive with a spectacular run of four consecutive three-pointers, each one sweeter than the last, in barely two minutes. The captain lifted the WiZink Center and sent the madridistas into orbit with an 84-69 in 33'. There was still time left but Chus Mateo's men were in control of the play and countered Barcelona's last attempt with their collective work, with Yabusele taking over from Llull. Today the shots went in down the stretch and when this happens, it is difficult to stop the madridistas, who went on to win by 19 points (97-88).

STATISTICS FROM REAL MADRID-BARCELONA