Barcelona drew strength from weakness to defeat this Thursday Anadolu Efes (82-77), current European champion, in a titanic duel that awakened the best version of Sarunas Jasikevicius’ team and also that of a Palau Blaugrana delivered.
The Barça fans had not forgotten the defeat against the Turkish team in the last final of the Euroleague and generated the thunderous atmosphere of the great European nights to feed a Barça that arrived lacking in freshness and after three consecutive defeats.
In an exhausting combat with minimal advantages, Barça recovered its best choral version on a defensive levelWhile in attack the performance of the young point guard Rokas Jokubaitis stood out, who assumed the leadership of the team in the second half and scored 16 points.
The Lithuanian was well supported by power forward Nikola Mirotic (15 points) and center Sertac Sanli (13 points), while guard Cory Higgins (9 points) played his best game since he reappeared in December after more than two months injured.
The Anadolu Efes, commanded by the bases Shane Larkin (17 points) and Vasilije Micic (18 points), could not count from the beginning of the third quarter with the coach Ergin Ataman, who lost the papers when he was sent off for protesting and left the track directing defiant gestures to the stands.
The Barcelona team confirmed hours before the game the availability of point guard Dante Exum, the last player of the first team who was still separated by covid-19, but again had the casualties due to injury of point guard Nick Calathes, guard Álex Abrines and center Pierre Oriola.
Barça veterans wore stripes the initial stretch of scoring, of a high defensive intensity on both sides of the court, to consolidate the first advantage on the scoreboard thanks to the offensive inspiration of Mirotic, with nine points (two triples and a 2 + 1), and Higgins, author of six goals (17-9, minute 6 ).
The departure of Shane Larkin to the parquet, combined with the rest of the Barça starters and the power of the Turkish team in the offensive rebound, allowed Anadolu Efes cut the disadvantage at the end of the first quarter with a quick partial of 0-6 (19-17).
The power of center Bryant Dunston near the basket punished Barcelona with five consecutive points, which was down on the scoreboard after the triples by Larkin and power forward Adrien Moerman (26-32, minute 16), a former Barça team as well than the interiors Chris Singleton and Tibor Pleiss.
It was another ex, the Barcelona pivot Sertac Sanli, who led the reaction of the Catalan team with six points in a row and a tireless fight under the board (35-36, min.18), corresponded with the coral defensive improvement of the Catalans who in attack they fearlessly searched for the hoop and took advantage of it from the personnel line.
A triple by point guard Rokas Jokubaitis and a basket after a rebound by Mirotic, the leading scorer at halftime with 13 points, put Barça ahead but a triple by Larkin, Anadolu Efes offensive leader with 12 goals, kept the Turks ahead at the end of the second act (40-41).
The triples of Sanli, Laprovittola and Kuric set Palau Blaugrana on fire, but not as much as the expulsion of visiting coach Ergin Ataman, who after seeing two techniques in a few seconds due to his protests refused, in the first instance, to leave the court and, finally, he did so by raising his fists and striking his chest in a defiant gesture towards the stands (51-43, minute 24).
The incident interrupted the good moment of Barcelona, which despite rushing into attack and conceding several easy baskets managed to finish the third quarter in advantage led by Jokubaitis (61-56).
Anadolu Efes tightened the score from the free throw line (70-68, minute 35) and a triple by Larkin resurrected ghosts in the Barça side (73-72, minute 37), but under the direction of Jokubaitis and a triple by Brandon Davies (78-72, minute 38) unleashed the roar in a delivered Palau Blaugrana.
The Barca entered the last minute ahead on the scoreboard (80-75) and he did not waste the booty to tie a prestigious victory against the reigning European champion (82-77) with a foreshortened basket from Jokubaitis.
Datasheet:
82 – FC Barcelona (19+21+21+21): Laprovittola (5), Higgins (9), Sergi Martínez (2), Mirotic (15), Davies (7) -initial team-, Exum (1), Sanli (13), Smits (-), Hayes-Davis (4) ), Kuric (8), Jokubaitis (16) and Nnaji (2).
77 – Anadolu Efes (17+24+15+21): Bryant (-), Micic (18), Simon (12), Singleton (6), Pleiss (2) -equipo inicial-, Larkin (17), Beaubois (2), Moerman (6), Anderson (2), Petrusev (-) y Dunston (12).
Referees: Damir Javor (ESL), Borys Ryzhyk (UCR) and Tomislav Hordov (CRO). They signaled a technical foul to local Brandon Davies (min.16). Visiting coach Ergin Ataman was sent off for two technical fouls (min. 23 and 23).
Incidents: Meeting of the twenty-first day of the Euroleague played at the Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona before 5,260 spectators.
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