Regal FC Barcelona’s basketball team is no stranger to the Euroleague Final Four, as they make their 13th overall appearance, including their fifth in the last six seasons. The boys from Spain will be looking to win their third Euroleague title, having won championships in 2003 and 2010.
FC Barcelona seems to be peaking as they head to the Final Four- they won their first 12 games during the Top 16 phase of the competition, setting Euroleague records with 24 consecutive Top 16 wins and 31 straight Top 16 home victories.
FC Barcelona went on to dominate their best-of-5 quarterfinal series against Galatasaray Liv Hospital, winning three games by a total of 51 points. They were the only team to win a quarterfinal series 3-0, and their sweep has the team well-rested heading to Milan, and feeling more confident than ever that they can win the Final Four.
This is a team that has incredibly well-balanced on offense during Euroleague play, as they only have two players that score in double figures, Ante Tomic (11.8 points per game) and Juan Carlos Navarro (11.3). Their balance makes them a very difficult team to defend, as they have six players who average between 7.0 and 9.0 points per contest.
If this team has a star it would be Tomic, who is their leading scorer but also their leader in rebounds per game (6.3), free throw attempts (76) and player index rating (16.0) during Euroleague play.
12 of the 14 players on the FC Barcelona roster have averaged more than 10 minutes per game in Euroleague play, and they are hoping this balance will lead the way to their third Euroleague crown.
Don Ellis started covering sports professionally when he was 15. He attended Ball State University, and some of his past credits include InsideHoops (columnist) and ESPN Florida (The Florida Sports Reporters, SportsCenter anchor) . In addition to running Bullsville.net and writing for The Sports Bank and ChicagoNow (Bullsville), he is also a KHSAA baseball umpire. He’s a 3rd-generation Cubs fan, a Bulls fan since the days of Van Lier and Sloan, and a life-long New England Patriots fan. Follow Don on Twitter @Bullsville.