euroleague working day 29

Barça expressed its lack of soul and competitiveness after losing consecutively and at home against Fenerbahçe and Olympiacos last week, wrongs that called into question the home court factor for the qualifying rounds prior to the Euroleague Final Four. Bumps that arrived in a traced way, since Jasikevicius’s team initially distilled a volcanic basketball to later erode and go to the age of the thaw, from heaven to hell. Against Red Star, however, the Barça team recovered its verve and pulse at the Palau, a restorative triumph (85-79) catapulted by Satoransky, Vesely and Mirotic, finally a team without hesitation and with a categorical last quarter that could stifle Campazzo’s basketball and, incidentally, the Serbian team.
The Serbian team led by Dusko Ivanovic and his extravagant hairstyle -upper baldness adorned with a long ponytail-, always led by the exceptional Campazzo, as quick on the counters as he was electric in getting rid of his dance partner, was not a comfortable rival. But the Argentine did not start the duel in tune, since he missed two consecutive triples and took a superb cap from a Satoransky who explained the inequality of centimeters between point guards (1.81 meters from the Estrella to the 2.01 from the Czech). . Abrines, who came out of the game, started the opposite way, pitching from the perimeter as well as Mirotic. Although Campazzo, who played 34 minutes to go against the widespread and established policy of rotations on the floor, he does not understand that of playing badly and he soon became active, a distributor of assists and exceptional in baskets. So the battle was equalized in the paint, again Barcelona timid in its defense as brave the tall men of Red Star, capital Bentil at the beginning as Mitrovic in relief.
Another issue was the shots from abroad, a contagious disease among the Serbs, who threw eight runs without any success. At ninth, Ivanovic hit the target. Nothing that Abrines did not reply, who had more in his pocket -four out of four to begin with- and that Vesely continued, who started with a sprained wrist but knew how to correct himself in time to punish the rival with medium-distance shots. Barça, although far from the best version of him, did not show those weaknesses that have cost him so many stakes, enough to reach the intermission with an income of four points (40-36).
chof of Satoransky and chof from Mirotic. Two consecutive triples from Barça to open the third quarter and the gap with Red Star. A situation that Campazzo resisted, surpassed in defense by a Satoransky excellent in shooting, but effervescent and irrepressible in attack (again as a sniper or as a pass liner with lines that seemed non-existent) to explain to Laprovittola that he has food the moral. Good as a rival; well as a teammate in the fight for the point guard position. A whirlwind that led the duel to the tables (57-57) with the last chapter to go. Moment of anger of Jasikevicius, who did not stop in his bellows or fuss; moment of fire from the Palau stands, which he saw his team shivering again, which seemed to miss out on a 10-point lead again.
Campazzo rested at the beginning of the last quarter, attended by the masseur to oxygenate his legs. A minute off because he had work, because Barça was getting stronger and giving watts to their defense, finally a neat and resourceful team, led by Satoransky and driven by Mirotic. Moment of blaugrana ecstasy seasoned by a stratospheric stopper from Vesely, who raises his fist and, incidentally, to the Palau. But the Red Star, cat with seven lives, continued with the rubber game, from seven to two points in a breath, I’m leaving but I’ll be back, whatever Campazzo says. But the one who spoke last was Jokubaitis, five points and an assist for Kalinic’s three-pointer, the final shot and seal of a victory that finally tempered Barça in Europe.
FC BARCELONA, 85 – RED STAR, 79
FC Barcelona: Satoransky (13), Laprovittola (3), Abrines (12), Mirotic (21) and Sanli (2) -starting five-; Da Silva (0), Pauli (0), Vesely (21), Kalinic (5), Tobey (0), Kuric (0) and Jokubaitis (8).
Red Star: Campazzo (24), Vildoza (7), Lazarevic (0), Martin (2) and Bentil (11) -starting five-; Mitrovic (11), Ivanovic (6), Markovic (6) and Petrusev (12).
Partial: 18-15; 22-21; 17-21 and 28-22.
Referees: Streten Radovic (Croatia), Carmelo Paternico (Italy) and Amit Balak (Israel).
Palau Blaugrana. 7,160 spectators.
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.