In the beginning of the day 30 of the EuroleagueFacundo Campazzo was again key in the Red Star, which added a key victory. This time he didn’t shine from his attempts to hoop, in which converted three points (1-8 on field goals)but in one of his best roles: as assistant, with seven key passes. Despite having achieved an important victory against Baskonia (last classified in the table for the final eight) by 74 a 63the serbs they remain in position 14 overall and they would need a miracle to qualify for the playoffs, with only four dates remaining. On Friday, Gabriel Deck completes the date for the Argentines.
As locals at the Pionir Arena, the Serbian team managed to return to victory in the continental tournament after two defeats -Barcelona and Panathinaikos- to thus add their victory number 13 of the contest, in which they also accumulate 17 defeats. In his fifth match as a benchmark for the reds in the continental tournament, and after scoring a great game in the defeat against Barça with 24 points, Campazzo was once again key as a passerin addition to having managed to add three rebounds in an intense 30 minutes of play. To top it off, he did it all on his 32nd birthday. Meanwhile, his teammate, Luca Vildoza, he finished with three points, three assists and three steals.
In a complicated duel, the ACB champions in 2020 (with Vildoza as MVP) took to the field in Serbia with a clear objective: win to rely on themselves in qualifying. In this frame, Baskonia dominated with a first quarter 26-21 in favor. However, knowing that a defeat would leave them without a chance, Red Star renewed their airs in the second and barely allowed their Spanish rivals scored 12 points -to go to rest one point up 39-38-, thanks to a run of eight points from the pivot Benjamin Bentilwho finished as the second scorer for the reds with 12 points.
Already in the plugin, those led by the historic Duško Ivanović took the advantage that would give them victory, with a resounding 18-11 from the hand of Nemanja Nedovicthe figure of the match with 20 points, a rebound and an assist in 24 minutes. While on the blaugrana side, the standout was Darius Thompson with 15 points, five rebounds and six assists. Despite the victory, the Serbs (13-17) they are still two victories away from Baskonia (15-15) with four dates to play. The good news is that the Serbian champion will have an upcoming double date against Valencia (10th) and Lyon (18th), two very accessible rivals. Although getting into the playoffs seems almost impossible at this point.
Barcelona, with its sights set on the final eight
The losing streak is over. This proved the Barcelona (3rd) that added a complicated victory on Greek soil against Panathinaikos (16°) by 88 a 74 to continue staying in the third position of the table, and already qualified for the playoffs. Despite a first quarter in which they were outscored by three points (25-22), the current runners-up in the ACB League regained leadership after a resounding 21-11 in the second period. From then on, it was all comfort for Nicolás Laprovittola’s team, who had a brief game of two points, one rebound and three assists in 25 minutes on the court.
For the Catalans, the last executioners of the Red Star on matchday 29, this victory meant they stopped worrying about the classification and start looking at what will be the next instanceto which they are already classified together with the Olympiacos and Real Madrid -last runner-up-. Friday April 14 the quarterfinal crosses will be knownwhere the first will play against the eighth, the second against the seventh and so on, in series to the best of five games with a 2-2-1 format (the best classified defines as local).
The Real does not want to lose footprint
knowing of and to be among the eight classified to the quarterfinals, Real Madrid (2nd, with a 20-9 record) will close matchday 30 this friday at 3pm (broadcast by DirecTV Sport) contra el Virtus Bologna (13th) in Italy and with the presence of Gabriel Deck from Santiago. With scarcely three losses in their last ten meetingsthe leaders of the ACB League are playing a tournament apart from the rest of the competitors. A one-on-one duel against Olympiacos (with a 21-8 record) to find out who will end up as the leader of the rankingwhich will give him the sporting advantage in all instances.
