“We needed this victory. After two defeats, the boys have reacted as expected. In the end we were able to distribute minutes among young people and this is always good news “, analyzed Sarunas Jasikevicius. The Lithuanian coach had the absences of Àlex Abrines and Cory Higgins, who is recovering from a low back pain. “After two defeats, we wanted to get back to our usual game and we played with great intensity,” said Nico Laprovittola.
Bitci Baskonia took advantage of a few good minutes from Steven Enoch to stage a great staging at the Palau Blaugrana (10-10), but a partial demolition of 18-0 left the game seen for sentencing just starting (28-10 ). Encouraged by brilliant success rates, the Catalan team scored very easily against a rival that had neither the defensive solidity nor the balance that the teams coached by Dusko Ivanovic always achieve. Discouraged by the latest results and the avalanche of Catalan players, the Basque rival was weak during a first half in which he received 55 points (55-31).
Nikola Mirotic scored 13 points in a third quarter in which Barça’s difference grew to 40 points (81-41). The best player of October marked the line for a Barça team that kept its concentration against a rival whose game was eternal. The pivot winger finished with 37 points thanks to 25 points and 8 rebounds in just 18:20 minutes of play. “We did an exhibition thanks to a good collective game. We made a good defense and we shared the ball well “, he said. Baskonia used a final score of 12-26 to make up for the result, but the defeat was very painful. “There was no match today,” Ivanovic acknowledged.
The King’s Cup, in Granada
The ACB announced yesterday that Granada will host the Copa del Rey from 17 to 20 February. As the host city does not have a club in the Endesa League, the top eight will take part at the end of the first round. Barça (first), Joventut de Badalona (fifth) and Baxi Manresa (ninth) aspire to play in the tournament, which will be held at the Palau Municipal d’Esports in Granada. The pavilion has a capacity of 10,000 spectators and has already hosted other events, such as the King’s Cup in 1992 and 1995, the 2005 Super Cup and the 2014 World Cup.
