TAU again proved to be Barca’s bogey team. The team approached the cup with maximum ambition and having defeated Madrid, hopes were high, but again the Basque team thwarted Barca’s drive, beating them in the semis before going on to claim the tinal.
Barca made their debut in the competition on February 19th well aware that this was the perfect
showcase for them to make their mark on the season. Unfortunately, they were only able to show
their full potential in the first game when they brushed aside Real Madrid 83-75 in their own town
thanks in large part to 28 points from Navarro who again proved to be Madrid’s nemesis.
Baskonia too strong
Two days later in the semis Barca again faced TAU Baskonia, a team who boasted a 5-0 winning
record against them (including the three ACB final games in 2007/08) and there was nothing the
Catalans could do to stop them making it six as they showed themselves superior to Barca in every
facet of the match, winning 77-90.
Navarro and Ilyasova were the only players able to withstand TAU, but even they
couldn’t prevent the excellent Igor Rakocevic (27 points) and Tiago Splitter (17) from
sealing the win. TAU went on to take the title, their second of the season after the Spanish Super
Cup, by beating Unicaja 100-98.