Barça will arrive in Belgrade after a huge comeback

Barça will face the Final Four of the Euroleague with very good feelings after completing a sensational second half in Manresa with 61 points that have allowed him to turn around a game that had been very complicated and in which the locals were superior in the first two quarters (40-33).

When things were worst Sarunas Jasikevicius’s team remembered the one who marveled at the end of last year with a very intelligent defense and an attack marked by success from the outside and clarity of ideas to end up imposing themselves with great authority by 80-94.

It was a somewhat uncomfortable match for both teams, since the locals had just suffered a painful defeat at the hands of Lenovo Tenerife in the Champions League final and the visitors arrived with the first place assured and with their minds set on Belgrade.

In a packed Nou Congost that is still delivered to those of Pedro Martínez and with a crowd that already starred in a sensational show in Miribilla in the Final Four of the Champions League and has once again amazed this Saturday, the Bages team imposed their until intermission with the good news in ‘Belgrade key’ of the return of the Australian Dante exum.

And that a triple of Sertaç Sanli collaborated to a good staging of a Barça team that won by 2-9 before the third minute. It was a mirage. With a very aggressive substitution defense that conceded three-point shots and a devilish pace, the Manresans annulled the current league champion’s attack.

The best proof of this difference in intensity is that BAXI Manresa managed four baskets with additional free throws, two of them by Chima Moneke who is still crying out for one of the ‘greats’ in Europe to bet on him. With those premises, the locals achieved a partial of 11-0 (13-9) and closed the first quarter six points up (21-15).

The Barça tried to raise the piston of vehemence, but he didn’t give one on triple shots (he got to be at 2/11). The fact is that Yankuba Sima imposed the law on him under the hoops and at 4:07 of the break those of an angry Jasikevicius were already ten points down (33-23).

The second three-pointer from a Rolands Smits who always responds closed that losing streak in a azulgrana team that managed to score only eight points in 10 minutes (from 3′ to 13′). Thus, and once again led by Moneke, the Manresa faced the last two minutes nine points up (38-29).

Using free kicks, the visitors prevented more blood from flowing from the wound and they went to the changing rooms within the game despite the disadvantage (40-33). With 4/16 triples and eight turnovers, the score wasn’t that bad… although Pedro Martínez’s men were worse than three (1/11).

There Barça turned on the ‘Euroleague mode’ and starred in a sensational third quarter in which they scored 30 points when they only had 33 after the first two. And a good part of the fault lay with a masterful Laprovittola with 16 points and an excellent Rokas Jokubaitis as ‘squire’.

taking advantage of the Denied night of BAXI Manresa from the triple (1/17)the leader of the regular phase only needed 101 seconds to take the lead with five points from Nigel Hayes (40-41), although this time there was a response from Manresa (48-43).

With ‘Lapro’ in a stellar plan and without a Mirotic who did not play in the entire third quarter as he was already with three fouls, the azulgrana team increased its lead until Jokubaitis made it 54-63 from the free throw in a quarter that closed Vaulet (56-65).

The work was already on track and Nikola Mirotic took care of the rest Con of consecutive triples that definitely catapulted his team. At 60-78 the match was sentenced to five minutes from the end, but not even that silenced a magical Nou Congost.

The locals caste him to cover up a defeat that ended up coming 80-94. A ten for the people of Manresa, who will face Real Madrid in the quarterfinals. For its part, Barça will do so against Gran Canaria or Surne Bilbao Basket.