FC Barcelona have won the EuroLeague championship twice, the first in 2003 and the last one was in 2010, and both times the team had the support of Italian players, Gregor Fucka when they won in Barcelona and Gianluca Basile when they prevailed in Paris in their latest triumph. This season, Barcelona won the regular season title, and it is the number one team in the bracket.
OUTLOOK – Barcelona has reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and the Final Four since 2014, which was also the year of their last Spanish championship. Barcelona has won the regular season and is chasing its first European title since 2010. In all it has won two to go along six more international cups. This year it has already won the King’s Cup. This is its eighth Final Four in the EuroLeague era.
THE TEAM – Point guard Nick Calathes, second all-time in assists, is scoring much less than during the last three years spent at Panathinaikos. His scoring averaged dipped from 13.3 points per game to 7.8. He also averaged 6.6 assists per game, finishing second during the regular season. Guard Cory Higgins is the second-best scorer on the team (12.9 points per game) and has 120-for-129 from the line, 93 percent. Alex Abrines, who usually starts at the small forward position, is shooting 41.7 percent from three even if he struggled a little during the playoff series with Zenit. Nikola Mirotic, the power forward, is the top scorer with an average of 15.9, points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 60.2 percent shooting from two and 42.2 percent shooting from three. The center is Brandon Davies, 12.1 points per game, with 57.4 percent shooting from two, although Pierre Oriola starts more frequently (5.5 points, 3.6 rebounds per game). Leandro Bolmaro, an Argentine chosen in the first round of the last NBA draft, by Minnesota, and Leo Westermann, who arrived from Fenerbahce during the current season, are the other point guards. Kyle Kuric has shot 59.5 percent from three, first overall in the league, and spells Higgins at the guard spot where Coach Jasikevicius can also use the emerging Sergi Martinez. At the small forward spot, there is also the Hungarian defensive stopped Adam Hanga. Among the bigs there are also the Latvian Roland Smits (shooting 41.3 percent from three) and Victor Claver, coming back from a long injury, as well as Artem Pustovy. The legendary Pau Gasol, 41 years old and two NBA championships won with the Lakers during his remarkable career, was more effective during the playoffs as a “rim protector”. In his career, he boasts 1,226 NBA appearances with 20,894 points scored. Nikola Mirotic was included on the All-EuroLeague first team; Brandon Davies was named to the second.
FINAL FOUR EXPERIENCE – Cory Higgins won the 2016 and 2019 EuroLeague championship with CSKA Moscow. He played along with Sergio Rodriguez and Kyle Hines. He is playing in his fifth Final Four. Nikola Mirotic played in three Final Four, but always with Real Madrid before going to the NBA. Nick Calathes won the EuroLeague in 2011 with Panathinaikos even though he didn’t have the current role. He appeared in two Final Four, but the last one dates back to 2012. Alex Abrines (twice), Adam Hanga with Vitoria in 2016, Victor Claver when he was in Kuban with Malcolm Delaney always in 2016, Brandon Davies with Zalgiris also boast appearances.
THE COACH – Sarunas Jasikevicius was one of the greatest playmakers in EuroLeague history and played the Final Four with four different teams, winning them with Barcelona, Maccabi and Panathinaikos. As a coach, he is on his second experience after the one he had with Zalgiris Kaunas in 2018.
