It was an intense final, in which the scores were always close and there was constant contact in every attack. It was 30-30 at half time and Barça had to fight till the final moments for the win, even though they were ahead for most of the match.

Alan Anderson, who scored 19 points, was voted the tournament’s MVP, which was a fitting reward for the best player in the final who turned the screw on the home team that gave their everything to try and reverse their most recent humiliations at the hands of the Barça team.

Even start

The first quarter was dominated by Anderson and Madrid’s Tomic. Both of them took responsibility for their team’s attacking, with the Croat dominating under the basket and chalking up the points and rebounds, whilst the American was the Barça player who found it easiest to score.

Anderson first had to match Tucker’s three pointers before Tomic began to hurt Barça under the baskets and bring his team back into the game. A score from Sada as the quarter closed gave Barça a slight lead(19-17) and it was clear that Madrid were going to put up a fight.

Messina’s team kept up the pressure and with their interior game they managed to slow the game down to a pace that suited them against Regal’s attempts to up the pace. This was a hard physical game with plenty of contact and every point was hard to come by - just as it should be in a final. For Barça, Lorbek (0 / 4 in shots) and Navarro (without a single point in the first quarter) were both finding it difficult to get into their stride and their lack of points was hitting the team hard.

Close marking job

Prigioni’s marking of Navarro was one of the images of the game, constantly up close and frequently on the limit of legality, the Argentinean shadowed Navarro all over the court, though Barça were able to find other solutions.

A three pointer from Lorbeck put an end to his points drought and also silenced the raucous home crowd. It was 30-30 at the break, but Regal took control in the third quarter with great play from Sada, Grimau, Vázquez and Ndong to up the pace to a level that Madrid just couldn’t deal with. Ricky showed great courage, finishing the game in pain after a twisted ankle - another example of just why this team is special.

Last 10 minutes finish it off

Down by seven points, Madrid began to fear another big defeat and their nerves betrayed them as they missed some easy shots and lost their concentration whilst Barça finished the game in style.

Anderson scored a 2+1 to take the lead above 10 points and it was clear who was going to pick up the Cup. Even though Madrid managed seven points without reply to cut the difference to 64-56, Barça’s victory was never threatened- Barça are winners again, retaining the title and again showing they are the best, this time against their great rivals Madrid. The image of the injured Basile lifting the trophy high will be an image that the Barça fans won’t forget for a long time to come.