BarcelonaParis Basketball’s audacity was rewarded at the Palau Blaugrana, where Barça suffered their first defeat of the season in the Euroleague (87-103). The uninhibited play of the French team surprised a tired Catalan side after Belgrade’s effort. TJ Shorts, the player who is revolutionizing the competition at just 175 centimeters tall, and Maodo Lo led the way to victory for a visiting team that has accumulated six consecutive victories. “I am very proud of how we competed against a very powerful opponent,” said the American, a player of deep religious convictions who thanked Jesus Christ for his performance.
Juan Núñez and Joel Parra completed a remarkable performance, but Barça were unable to impose their match script and lost the lead in the classification. Joan Peñarroya had the absence of Justin Anderson, who is recovering from gastroenteritis. “They played well and we couldn’t defend them well,” analyzed the coach.
It didn’t take long for Barça to understand the reason for Paris Basketball’s good start to the season. The French team took advantage of their atypical way of playing to build a difference of 15 points (18-33). The Blaugrana team recovered the rhythm thanks to a greater control of the ball losses and the defense, which reduced the performances of the visitors. In addition, the outside shooting percentages penalized the speed that Tiago Splitter wanted to impose. The local reaction served to overturn the score (48-45).
The maximum local difference was 8 points (56-58). Paris took advantage of Maodo Lo’s good minutes to regain the initiative on the scoreboard and reach the last ten minutes with an advantage (70-73). The away income grew worryingly in a last quarter in which Barça was not able to match the energy of the French team.
Solidarity with Valencia
On the occasion of the Endesa League match between Barça and Valencia Basket this Sunday at the Palau Blaugrana, the Catalan club and its foundation have activated a Fila O Solidarity to give the opportunity to those who want to collaborate with the reconstruction of infrastructures and essential social services of some of the populations most affected by DANA. This initiative will continue over the coming weeks.
Before the start of the game, the players of both teams will stand together in the center of the court showing a banner of support with the message “#EstemAmbVosaltres”, thus adding to the message shared by Valencia Basket. All teams playing at the Palau Blaugrana will show their support for those affected by DANA by taking a photo with the banner before the start of the matches.
