In 1999 we had a Spanish Korac final between Barcelona and Estudiantes. It had two very different matches, the first one held in Madrid, Estudiantes won by 16 points, so it seemed clear favourite for the title, but in the return Barcelona swept away and won by 27
Quarterfinals
Panionios – Dijon
Oostende – Besiktas
Siena – Barcelona
Students – Arsenal
Semi-finals
Panionios – Barcelona
Oostende – Students
In a sensational display of grit, a Chandler Thompson-less Estudiantes (seriously injured in the semi-finals) won by 16 points (93-77) over a Barcelona side with a bigger budget, a bigger bench and bigger centimetres. In an incredible second half – they lost 39-42 at half-time – the Colegiales literally overtook the Azulgranas and brought the Copa Korać title closer to the showcases of Ramiro de Maeztu. It was, on the other hand, the first time that two Spanish teams played a European final. FC Barcelona achieved their goal of overcoming the 16-point deficit they brought home from Madrid and won their second Cup Korać after a match in which they swept aside an overly respectful Estudiantes and the atmosphere at Palau Blaugrana, who put aside their traditional grit, speculated on the outcome of the first leg and ended up being overwhelmed by Aito’s men and their own fear of winning. Azofra, a point guard who represents the happy basketball of the Ramiro team, wanted to play to exhaust his possessions (something he neither knows nor wants to do) and the result was a total student disaster.
Barcelona
*Djordjevic – 19.0p, 6.0a
*Esteller – 13.5p, 3.0a
*Gurovic – 10.5p, 3.5r
*Alston – 15.0p, 8.5r
*Rentzias – 13.0p, 6.5r
Rodríguez – 4.0p, 2.5a
Fernández – 12.0p, 1.5r
Dueñas – 0.0p, 3.0r
Junyent – 0p. (1)
Navarro – 0p. (1)
Estudiantes
*Azofra – 9.0p, 3.5a
*Jiménez – 9.5p, 7.5r
*Bárcenas – 3.0p, 1.0r
*Vandiver – 18.5p, 4.0r
*A.Reyes – 15.0p, 8.0r
Martínez – 5.0p, 3.5a
Robles – 6.0p
F.Reyes – 2.0p, 2.0r
De Miguel – 13.0p, 7.0r
Braña – 1p. (1)
