FC Barcelona whips Real Madrid in Game 1 of Spanish League finals

FC Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 89-75 in Game 1 of the Spanish Liga Endesa finals on Sunday, moving within one victory of the title.

The 17-0 spurt in the third quarter fueled the victory for coach Sarunas Jasikevicius’ club.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is at the Palau Blaugrana on Tuesday.

Higgins set the tone

Dynamic playmaker Cory Higgins, a University of Colorado alum, led FC Barcelona with 25 points, including 14 points in the third quarter.

Brandon Davies chipped in with 13 points and Nick Calathes had a 12-point night at the WiZink Center.

What’s more, the winners also received a solid effort from Pau Gasol (eight points, eight rebounds).

With Higgins and his teammates displaying a sense of urgency and strong synergy, they erased a seven-point deficit and transformed it into a 10-point lead during the aforementioned run.

As a result, Barca took a 62-52 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Top Real Madrid performers

Walter Tavares paced Real Madrid with a double-double (16 points, 11 boards). Fabien Causeur and Rudy Fernandez scored 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Whites led 36-33 at halftime.

Losing coach Pablo Laso said his team needed to match FC Barcelona’s shooting success to prevail.

“It’s very difficult to come back when you trail by so much against a team like Barça,” Laso commented. “Everything is very important in games like this and our shooting wasn’t up to it and we were punished for that. We have to take into account that the match is over and we now have 48 hours before what will be just as demanding and just as difficult as today’s game.”

Another shot at a title for FC Barcelona

On May 30, Andalou Efes Istanbul defeated FC Barcelona in the EuroLeague final.

After that recent disappointment, another notable prize is within the team’s reach.