Real outlasts Barcelona in OT thriller for 3rd ANGT title

U18 Real Madrid captured its third title at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament when it prevailed in an 81-78 overtime thriller against Spanish archrival U18 FC Barcelona in the 2021 ANGT Championship Game. Konstantin Kostadinov led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds while MVP Eli Ndiaye collected 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in 44:47 minutes played. Urban Klavzar chipped in 16 points and Sediq Garuba tallied 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks in the victory. Real pulled even with U18 CSKA Moscow for a record three ANGT crowns following triumphs in 2015 and 2019. Real also became the first repeat champion since U18 FMP Belgrade won back to back in 2008 and 2009. It was the first time that the ANGT Championship Game went to overtime. The 2016 continental champion Barcelona came up just short despite Michael Caicedo pouring in 25 points with 11 rebounds. Gael Bonilla added 16 points and Agustin Ubal had 11 points.

Caicedo scored the first points of the game on the break and Ian Granja added an inside layup before James Nnaji made it 0-6. Real could not get any rhythm offensively as Nnaji was a force in the paint for Barcelona with 2 blocks. The reigning champion came up empty on its first eight possessions with four turnovers until Ndiaye’s jumper after 4:29 minutes. After the early lead, Barcelona was held scoreless for more than 4 minutes and watched as Real scored the next 7 points - including a three-point play by Garuba. Caicedo stopped the Barcelona drought with a three-pointer and was answered by a Ndiaye triple. Bonilla and Kostadinov both hit from long range for their teams and the game was knotted 17-17 after 10 minutes. Klavzar hit a pair of three-pointers early in the second quarter as Real mounted its first mini-run at 8-0 to go up 27-19. Barcelona called a timeout and brought Nnaji back into the game and punched back with a 0-8 run. After a timeout of its own, Real went to Matteo Spagnolo who had 6 points in an 11-4 close to the first half for a 38-31 advantage at the break.

A Nnaji three-point play started the second half but Kostadinov struck for 4 points as Real pushed the margin to double digits, 46-36. Barcelona raced back once again with two Caicedo baskets and back-to-back triples from Ubal to pull within 49-46. Klavzar knocked down two more triples at the other end to fend off Caicedo’s fight and keep Real ahead 60-56 after 30 minutes. Teodor Simic came off the bench for 7 points as Barcelona started the fourth quarter with a 0-9 run to pull ahead. Garuba finally got Real on the board after more than 3 minutes with a three-pointer and Kostadinov hit from deep for a 68-67 lead. Caicedo answered with a triple but the lead switched hands again on Henri Veeshaar’s three-point play for a 71-70 score with 2 minutes left. Caicedo swiped the ball from Spagnolo with 55 seconds left and Bonilla came down and nailed a three-pointer to make it 71-73. Both teams failed to convert allowing for Veeshaar to tie the game with on a layup with 1.4 seconds left. Caicedo’s tip-in off the in-bounds past went just off target to send the game to overtime - a historic first time in the history of the ANGT Championship Game.

Bonilla got Barcelona on the board first in the extra session but Garuba hit four points in a 6-0 run as Real went ahead 79-75. A Klavzar jumper had the reigning champs up 81-76 with 94 seconds left. Nnaji cut the deficit to 3 points, but Garuba and Ndiaye both came up with blocks in the final 13 seconds to secure the title.