Campazzo, Musa power Real Madrid over Barca in Spanish Super Cup semis / News - Basketnews.com

Nicolas Laprovittola was impressive in the first half, but as soon as Real Madrid neutralized him, their fifth straight win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup was a matter of time.

Credit: Zuma Press – Scanpix Credit Zuma Press – Scanpix

Real Madrid have won the last five Spanish Super Cups (the last four against FC Barcelona), while the Blaugrana won the last five games in the ACB, including last year's finals.

However, when the two squads took the court in Murcia for their first encounter in the 2023-24 campaign, the reigning EuroLeague champs were no match for their opponents. Real Madrid improved their defense after the first quarter and won 90-80 (22-25, 20-15, 25-19, 23-21).

They will now have the chance to claim their sixth straight title and take on the winner of the duel featuring hosts UCAM Murcia and Cup winners Unicaja Malaga (Saturday, 21:30 CEST). The final game will be held Sunday at 19:00.

And even though Willy Hernangomez, MVP of EuroBasket 2022, and former second NBA Draft pick Jabari Parker were heralded as the main attractions, it was Nicolas Laprovittola who stole the show for Roger Grimau's team. The Argentinian combo guard scored 18 points in the first half and another 9 in the second en route to 27 (2/3 2PT, 5/9 3PT, 8/9 FT) overall. He also had 4 assists and as many turnovers.

Tomas Satoransky added 14 (3/5 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 2/2 FT, 4 REB, 4 AST, 4 TO) and Jan Vesely-Alex Abrines had 8 points apiece for Barca. Willy Hernangomez didn't score from the field (0/6 FG, 3 rebounds) and Parker made his debut in an official game with 4 points in 14 minutes.

However, Real Madrid were the superior team in the second half. Facundo Campazzo (17 points on 8/12 FG, 5 AST, 3 ST, 3 TO) and Dzanan Musa set the tone on offense with 24 points (5/6 2PT, 3/6 3PT, 5/5 FT, 4 REB), while Edy Tavares completely shut down Willy Hernangomez in addition to scoring 13 points, along with 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks.

Gabriel Deck hummed along with 14 points (4/8 FG, 6/6 FT) plus 4 rebounds.

After being down 2-8 in the first four minutes, Real Madrid quickly picked it up and took the lead on the back of a 10-0 run. However, Nicolas Laprovittola was unstoppable, scoring 12 out of 16 Barca's points on 3/3 from downtown.

Dario Brizuela had to be taken to the locker room after being unintentionally elbowed by Edy Tavares with 1'43'' left to play in the first quarter. The Spanish forward suffered a serious cut on his left eyebrow and didn't return to the court. Alex Abrines and Sergio Rodriguez exchanged 3-point shots at the end of the first quarter that found the Catalan side up 25-22.

Even without Lapro on the court, Barcelona didn't lose their grip until Tavares and Rudy Fernandez's defense changed the script for the EuroLeague champions. The squad coached by Roger Grimau went scoreless for almost three minutes, before Alex Abrines made it 40-42 at half-time.

Laprovittola kept hurting his former team, reaching 21 points in as many minutes of play, but Real Madrid were able to maintain the lead powered by Facu Campazzo and Dzanan Musa.

When Campazzo took over, scoring 10 points in the third quarter, Los Blancos geared up for good and increased the gap separating them from their rivals (67-59). Musa added an unerring 5/5 2-point shooting in that span, when Jan Vesely was charged with his 4th foul and went to the bench.

A buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Rudy Fernandez that made it 88-73 deep in the last quarter was the icing on the cake for the winning side.

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