Barcelona defeats EuroLeague leader Real Madrid in El Clasico
Barcelona defeated EuroLeague frontrunners Real Madrid 83-78 in El Clasico basketball showdown on Wednesday. Czech center Jan Vesely led Barcelona with 27 points, a pivotal contribution to the home victory at Palau Blaugrana.
![Barcelona defeats EuroLeague leader Real Madrid in El Clasico](/Archive/2024/1/4/2134214/kapak_140411.jpg)
Barcelona's Nicolas Laprovittola contributed 14 points, Nikola Kalinic added 13, and Jabari Parker scored 10. For Real Madrid, Bosnian forward Dzanan Musa topped with 19 points, while Croatian Mario Hezonja, a former Barcelona player, scored 16.
A critical moment came in the fourth quarter when Kalinic's three-pointer pushed Barcelona to a 72-62 lead, a gap Real Madrid couldn't close for the remainder of the match. This win brings third-place Barcelona to a 12-6 record, while Real Madrid, despite the loss, remains the EuroLeague leader with a 16-2 season record.
Close behind Real Madrid, Italy's Virtus Segafredo Bologna stands at 13-5 after defeating Bayern Munich 85-83 late Wednesday.
In other matches, Spain's Valencia Basket overcame Turkish club Anadolu Efes 93-88, climbing to ninth place with ten wins in 18 games. Anadolu Efes, the 2021 and 2022 champions, are experiencing a challenging season, now 15th in the standings after their 11th loss in 18 games.
Wednesday's games also saw Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz narrowly beat Panathinaikos 75-73, alongside the highlighted matchups.