BASKETBALL PREVIEW | FC Barcelona v Anadolu Efes

Barça are forty minutes away from glory in Cologne as they attempt to take the Euroleague title for the fourth time in their history. After their exhilarating 84-82 win in the semi-final against AX Armani Exchange Milan, they will face Turkish side Anadolu Efes in the final after their semi-final victory over CSKA Moscow. 

Opponents 

Anadolu Efes made it to the Final Four with a 3-2 win over Real Madrid and the in the semi-final they pulled off an excellent victory over CSKA Moscow, withstanding a second half comeback in the contest from the Russians. 

Ergin Ataman's team are the second highest scorers in the competition with an average of 84.1 points per game. Micic is the current MVP in the competition and Efes also boast former blaugranes Singleton, Moerman and Pleiss. 

Ataman lead the team to the final also in 2019 when they lost to CSKA so Anadolu are still searching for that elusive first Euroleague title. 

Barça

Barça return to the Euroleague final 11 years after their last appearance in Paris in 2010. Saras Jasikevicius' team are the best defensive outfit in the competition with an average of just 73.2 points conceded per game. In what will be their eighth Euroleague final, the coach is still waiting on the fitness of Nick Calathes who picked up an injury in the semi-final. 

History 

In the two games between the two sides in the regular season in the Euroleague, the Turkish team came out on top on both occaisons. In Turkey Efes took a 86-79 win over the blaugranes and in the Palau Ataman's team squeezed out an 88-86 win.