BadalonaVicent Andrés Estellés said that without joy there is no poetry. Without pressure, this Barça does not perform well. The Barça team needed to look at the ropes to show off their best version. The reigning champions had to recover a 12-point disadvantage to eliminate Joventut de Badalona (60-63) and settle in a semifinals of the Endesa League with a major intensity (3-1). The Catalan team will play the final against Real Madrid.
Nikola Mirotic, Nick Calathes and Cory Higgins, as in the old days, led Barça’s victory. Between the three they added 45 points and 19 rebounds. “It was a very difficult match and we played with character,” said the American escort.
Sarunas Jasikevicius ruled out Dante Exum and Pierre Oriola, who is back in his lower back. The Lithuanian coach tried to repeat the formula on Wednesday, betting on Nico Laprovittola as a base. “The fans have suffered, but for a coach to win like that is better,” said the coach.
The good season of the Joventut de Badalona deserved one more match and, above all, to say goodbye to the Palau Olímpic with a victory. Before Tomic he played an extraordinary match. The pivot added 15 points and 13 rebounds and forced 9 personal fouls. Carles Duran introduced changes to the Penya’s game plan to regain initiative in the game. The strategy worked well for him during the first half in which he dislocated Barça. “We fought as hard as we could against a rival who is better than us. I’m fucked, but grateful to the team,” said the coach of a Peña who closed the season in third place.
The first quarter was marked by the inaccuracy of both teams. Joventut missed the five triples they tried and Barça wasted more shots than usual. Defensive pressure from the locals disturbed a Catalan team that could not control the pace as it had done on Wednesday (14-13).
Barça were without a goal in the first five and a half minutes of the second period. Without aim and with precipitation, the azulgrana equipment fit a partial 14-0 against a Youth that knew to exploit the virtues of its players (24-13). Ferran Bassas’s points and the consistency of Joel Parra took the visitors by surprise, as they also saw Sertaç Sanli hurt his ankle. La Penya set the pace with intensity and energy (27-15). The Catalan team, which only scored six points in the second period, only distributed four assists during a first 20 minutes of clear green-and-black color in which it failed 28 of the 34 shots it tried (28-19) . “We missed a lot of open shots,” Jasikevicius said.
The league champions used the third quarter to react. The points of Cory Higgins and Nikola Mirotic encouraged the offensive production of a Barça team that turned the score around. The Catalan team scored 21 points and discouraged a Youth that tried new things, such as playing with Ante Tomic and Simon Birgander at the same time (39-40).
The match, which had more excitement than success, came even in the last minutes. Barça opened an important gap three and a half minutes from the end (46-54), but a fearless Peña did not give up and tied the score (56-56). A basket from Nick Calathes and free throws from Davies, Hayes-Davis, Mirotic and Higgins certified the visitors winning.
ICG Força Lleida, in the ‘final four’
ICG Força Lleida beat Cáceres (79-70) and will play the final four of promotion to the LEB Gold (3-2). His rival in the semifinals of Fontajau will be Bàsquet Girona.
