By Doug Reed

The Spanish final reaches the fourth game with Barcelona Alusport leading the series 2-1. The Blaugrana need to record one more victory to take their third consecutive title.

Having won the regular season the fourth and potential fifth game will be played at Barca’s Palau sports hall. The statistics show that there is a huge task ahead for El Pozo to record two victories they need to survive and win the championship. Barca has not lost two consecutive games at home since 2007 and this league season is undefeated in the Palau and in half of those games they did not concede a single goal.

However it would be wrong to write off El Pozo’s chances as this is a team that has quality and is always competitive. This has been shown throughout the series where there has been little to separate the two sides. The first game featured just a single goal scored by Barca’s captain Torras. The second game was again won by one goal with El Pozo winning 2-1. The third game saw Barca win 6-3 with the scores at 4-3 until the last minute.

The first game takes place on Friday 21st June at 22.00 CET. If El Pozo win then a final deciding game will be played on Sunday 23rd June at 17.15 CET.

Below are some selected quotes about the upcoming contest by the respective managers.

Marc Carmona – Barcelona Alusport

“We are conscious that we have two opportunities, but we will try not to think too much about Sunday. El Pozo is a very good team. The three games we have played so far have been very equal. Everything will be decided, as is the cliché, by small details. The mental strength is fundamental in this final. We think that on Friday, if we do things well we will win.”

Duda – El Pozo Murcia

We have the opportunity to do something very beautiful. We know that it is very difficult because we would have to win two games over Barca in the Palau in a season that they have no lost a single game there, recover from 2-1 down in the final, something that no-one has ever done, and defeat a team that has beat us this season six times. The more time goes on, the more improbable things happen in sport. We are going to try until the last moment to be league champions.”





Posted by Doug Reed