Despite a spirited fightback late on, Real Madrid were beaten by rivals Barcelona 75-73 in the first Clasico of the weekend, giving the Catalan club their first victory in this season’s EuroLeague.
Czech stars Jan Vesely, who joined Barcelona from Fenerbahce in the summer, and Tomas Satoransky were on fine form early on, scoring their fair share points from inside the three-point line to give the hosts a 10-point lead after the second quarter.
Their advantage grew by a further point in the third quarter with Sertac Sanli getting in on the action. He would finish the game with 14 points and three rebounds, including two from distance.
But Real Madrid – potentially spurred on by the rivalry – were not finished yet and fought well to reduce the arrears in the final period.
Argentine Gabriel Deck, who top scored in the game with 21 points, helped pull the defecit back with an impressive record of seven of eight free throws scored. Despite scoring nine of the final 10 plays of the game, Real Madrid ran out of time, giving Barcelona the bragging rights in El Clasico.
