BarcelonaIf Barça suffered last season to eliminate Zenit St Petersburg in the quarter-finals of the Euroleague, this year they will have to work hard to get rid of Bayern Munich (75-90). The German team dominated the game thanks to a brilliant defensive strategy that canceled out the outside throw of a Catalan team that failed too many triples. Without aim, the spaces were reduced in excess. “The details are killing us. We have tried to do a good job, but they have played a great game,” lamented Sarunas Jasikevicius, who was very uncomfortable with the referee’s criteria.
The visiting hero was DeShaun Thomas, who scored 25 points with 6/7 in triples. “The second game was very important for us and everyone did a good job,” said the former Barça player. “I’m very happy because we will have two games at home now. It’s a big challenge for us,” said Andrea Trinchieri.
Nicola Mirotic, who added 16 points, 7 fouls and 6 rebounds, and Nick Calathes, who contributed 13 points and 8 assists, were among the few local players inspired by a night to forget. Barça had the casualties of Cory Higgins (injury) and Pierre Oriola (technical decision), but the key was the defense of a Bayern Munich that always took the initiative in the game. The reserves of the German team contributed much more than the second Barça unit.
Andrea Trinchieri’s Bayern Munich suffered the loss of Darrun Hilliard, who suffered a fracture on Tuesday. Andreas Obst successfully played his part in a German team that made an extraordinary first half. The visiting team bothered with defensive situations of two against one the game of a Barça that got to have a disadvantage of 16 points (31-47). DeShaun Thomas scored 16 points during a first half in which the locals lost too many balls and did not have good success rates from the three-point line. Without generating play from the bottom post, the Catalan balance was at risk and only Nick Calathes found creative ideas to score (35-48).
The Barça team tried to accentuate their outside shot to force the German defense to open up, but the strategy did not always find the right shot of the Catalan shooters. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, kept their balance in a second half in which two Andreas Obst triples discouraged Barça as they tried to come back. From 56-61 it went to 56-67. Despite trying, the Catalan team could not find the comeback in a very solid last quarter of the rival.
Wednesday, third game
The quarter-final tie is now moving to Bayern Munich. The third match of the qualifier will be played in Munich next Wednesday (7pm, DAZN). The fourth match is scheduled for Friday.
