EuroLeague Final 1990: Jugoplastika surpasses Barcelona and wins its second title

It seems that the generational change in Europe is already a fact. Teams like Milan and Maccabi will not be able to make it into the top four. Barcelona as last year was a tough competitor, keeping a hand to hand with the champions Jugoplastika. It was clear that they were the favourites to compete in the final. One of the surprises of the season was the Limoges that finally qualified third. The fourth position was for the Aris de Salonica that with this will be his third consecutive final four. After the regular league Barcelona had to face Aris Salonica and Jugoplastika against the revelation Limoges.

The final four was held this year in Zaragoza and a Barcelona leader and playing practically at home wants to take the continental trophy to their showcases. In the semifinal the Catalan team left no room for doubt and with a very complete game wiped the map of Aris of Thessaloniki (104-83). It was of little use that the trident Yannakis, Gallis, Jones opposed resistance or that Vrankovic dominated for moments the zones. This Barcelona with Epi scoring on the outside and with a tremendous inner game formed by the quartet Jimenez this in functions of eaves, Wood, Norris and a very active Ferran face to the hoop.

In the other semifinal the domain of Jugoplastika was also clear. The Croatians were always ahead on the scoreboard although the Limoges with Brooks and Collins at the head tried not to break the match. Kukoc and Savic were key from the bench, giving a lot of depth to their rotation. Radja was not as decisive as other times but Perasovic and Ivanovic imposed a rhythm scorer that the French could never put solution.

For the second consecutive year, the young Balkan talents of Jugoplastika won the continental trophy. Their opponents, Barcelona, had gone through a marvellous preliminary phase, and they also had the advantage of playing on home soil, making them clear favourites in the final. But, once again, the youngsters’ magnificent game of fundamentals Kukoč, Rađa, Savić, Perasović and company, coupled with a mental endurance unbecoming their age, ended up tipping the scales in their favour.

The azulgrana went out to the track past of revolutions, as if they tried to finish with the rival to the first of change. They wanted to impose their rhythm of play from the first minute and intimidate the Yugoslavs with a superaggressive defense. Epi and Solozábal pursued Ivanović and Sretenović as possessed, making a great physical wear. This effort was only translated into a minimal advantage (10-15, min. 6), at the expense of Solozábal committing his third personal foul in just six minutes and had to retire to the bench (which made the game of Barcelona resented remarkably, as his replacement, Costa, imposed a rhythm too crazy). The Jugoplastika, meanwhile, dosed his strengths better, waiting to weather the storm (the rival’s and referees’ excessively permissive with the locals). Their attacks were long and they were always looking for the man who remained free as a result of the constant defensive help of Barcelona. This, coupled with the area raised by Maljković, made the Yugoslavs start to escape on the scoreboard (31-22, min. 16). Only the sporadic flashes of some azulgrana players and errors in the free throws of Kukoč maintained a balanced result at the end of the first part (40-36, after an incredible triple in the last second of Perasović from his own track).

The second half continued along the same paths: the Jugoplastika set the pace of the match and Barcelona was towed. The Yugoslavs, thanks to a magnificent defense, managed to leave Barcelona without scoring a single point in four minutes, and with a partial 8-0 in this period escaped again on the scoreboard (52-43, min. 28). However, the loss of concentration of the men of Maljković halfway through the second half was used by the azulgrana to cut differences, to equal the score with a triple Solozábal (59-59, min. 33) and then even put ahead after a counterattack culminated with a mate Jiménez (59-61, min. 34). The «Príncipe Felipe» Pavilion was bursting with joy, with blue-haired fans who were beginning to dream of the first European Cup of Barcelona. But the Catalans continued to make too many mistakes in attack, and this, coupled with the fact that Kukoč decided to assume the responsibility attacker in these final moments, ended up sentencing the final in favor of Jugoplastika. After a new stretch of Split (70-63, min. 36), Aíto’s men were prey to nervousness and precipitation (clearly reflected in a mate back failed by Norris with hardly any opposition) and could not even force an equal end to the match. A significant fact: Barcelona only scored four points in the last six minutes of the match – a basket of Wood and two free throws of Epi, little baggage for a team that aspired to reign in Europe.