The current format of the Euroleague dates from the 2016-17 season. The fifth edition is being disputed under the modality of a regular league of all against all. In all this time, only once did he Barça he had led the competition alone. It happened on the fifth day of last season after the immaculate 5-0 in victories with which the Blaugrana team began the European course. A fact that is nothing more than a reflection that the end of a long journey through the desert of the Blaugrana section is near. Barça is still immersed in the process of growth that has already begun with the help of Pesic to the last campaign but that the pandemic stopped suddenly.
These green shoots are being confirmed under the baton of Conversations
Jasikevicius. As much as the marks are distributed at the end of the course, the current leadership of Barça in the Euroleague is not a thing. After seven rounds, it is the only team to have achieved six victories. And he has achieved this by playing more away games than at the Palau, where teams such as CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid have already paraded, both defeated by Jasikevicius’s army. Today will come another litmus test, as the visit of the fearsome Fenerbahçe always supposes. Although the team that Kokoskov now directs arrives in Barcelona without De Colo, injured, his triumphs on courts as complicated as Sinan Erdem (Anadolu Efes) or La Mano de Elías (Maccabi Tel Aviv) do not allow any type of relaxation in the Blaugrana ranks .
Pesic’s mantra
Just two seasons ago, the blaugrana fought to avoid the lantern of the competition
Despite his solo leadership, the reality is that Barça has not attended a meeting for six years final four . In fact, it has never done so under the current Euroleague format. His last memory is one of those that it is preferable to bury in the trunk of memories. A defeat by 38 points in the semifinals against Real Madrid in Milan. For many years, the Blaugrana team was a regular in the fight for the European title but in recent seasons the section’s journey has not been the best. The club’s bet on basketball was always half. In fact, until the famous signing of Mirotic in the summer of 2019, Barça had been two years in a row without even entering the Euroleague playoffs.
Things have changed a lot at the Palau in recent seasons. When Pesic landed in Barcelona to face his second stage on the bench, in February 2018, Barça were a lost soul in Europe. Penultimate in the standings and without any option to dream of the playoffs. An aimless team, regularly vilified in the great pavilions. “Barça had never fought to avoid being the last in the Euroleague”, repeated Pesic himself, who laid the foundations for the current recovery.
Drought of final fours He could have finished last season, still with the Serbian on the bench, but the cancellation of the competition due to the pandemic prevented it. Mirotic and company were left unable to fight for the great goal of the season after several months offering the best level of play that had been seen in the Palau in time. This year, for now, the sleek squad is making it clear that they don’t want to miss out on a second chance.
