Barça could not add the third consecutive victory of the season against Real Madrid and lost a classic that was decided in extra time (91-86). Led by Dzanan Musa, who scored nine points in extra time, the white team took the victory in a game in which the leadership of the Euroleague was at stake. The culer team also lost the basket average direct.
Despite losing 25 balls, Barça played a good game on the pitch of their eternal rival, where they had the ball by the handle for 38 minutes. The problem was the usual one; that he was not able to sentence the marker when the wind was blowing in his favor. “When you don’t kill the game, especially away from home, you end up losing it. I don’t know which team was better, but I’m very disappointed to have played so badly when we had the game under control. It hurts me a lot”, said Sarunas Jasikevicius. The Lithuanian coach ruled out Oriol Paulí and Mike Tobey to play in a WiZink Center that again insulted Nikola Mirotic. Minutes after the white club released a statement calling for respect for Vinicius, home fans tried to intimidate a power forward who ended up scoring 17 points. Tomás Satoransky, who added 12 points and 7 assists, was another standout.
Barça’s defense conditioned the first leg of the classic. Real Madrid could only score four points in the first five minutes in which the match followed the script drawn by Saras. The visiting income grew to 12 points (6-18) thanks to the good effectiveness of the players in the shot. Satoransky, Laprovittola and Abrines found good shots from the perimeter.
The white team accentuated the role played by Edy Tavares to load Barça’s internal game with personal fouls. Vesely and Sanli accumulated three infringements each and in the last minutes of the first half the pivot position was occupied by the young James Nnaji. In addition, the local team exploited good transition situations (32-39).
Nikola Kalinic’s third quarter was capital. Barça used their energy to counter-program the strategy of a Real Madrid that reached the last ten minutes losing by nine points (50-59). Sertaç Sanli’s caps took by surprise a rival who was on the verge of KO, but who knew how to manage the situation. The points of Gaby Deck and, above all, Sergi Llull punished the confidence of the team. The Menorcan escort added 15 points in a last quarter of great inspiration (69-67).
The visitors held on to Cory Higgins to not waste options and had the last ball, but Satoransky missed a shot at the horn and the game was decided in overtime (73-73). The final seconds were full of mistakes and both teams wasted good opportunities to secure the victory.
Muse, decisive
In extra time, Musa’s points became a slab for Barça. When the game seemed lost (87-78), two rebounds and two baskets by Mirotic added excitement in the final stretch (87-84), but Madrid did not forgive from the free throw line. “We played with heart, especially during the last period. Our fans have helped us to complete the comeback”, analyzed Chus Mateo, local coach. “We let Madrid be more aggressive than us and in a head-to-head game, we got the better of it”, said Àlex Abrines .e
no rest
Barça will play again this Saturday, when they visit Básquet Girona in Fontajau. Madrid, for its part, will face Baxi Manresa on Sunday at the Nou Congost.
