By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona beat Palencia 102 – 94 to bounce back to wins in the Spanish ACB League after a EuroLeague home loss to Olimpia Milano.
As they did at home in the first leg of the season, Palencia gave Barcelona a run for their money, being close 84 – 83 with 4:43 to play. The Blaugrana tightened their defense and made a 14 – 3 run to prevent any upset from happening.
Jabari Parker led five Barcelona in double figures with 18 points. Willy Hernangomez had 13 points and seven rebounds, Nicolas Laprovittola scored 12, Tomas Satoransky dropped 11 points and Rokas Jokubaitis posted 10 points plus six assists.
Anzejs Pasecniks scored 26 points for Palencia. Vitor Benite added 17 points along with six assists.
The next stop for Barca is the double-game EuroLeague week and matches vs. Virtus Bologna at home (31/1) and Crvena Zvezda on the road (2/2).
Earlier Sunday (28/1), Gran Canaria not only beat but crushed a shorthanded Real Madrid 100 – 77 at home. Despite the loss, the Blancos remain in the first place in the standings.
Baskonia defeated Obradoiro 89 – 79 behind 16 points and seven rebounds by Matt Costello. Markus Howard added 15 points against his older brother Jordan who scored a team-high 20 while the players’ parents were in attendance.
In Valencia, Dejan Kravish had 16 points and seven rebounds as Unicaja Malaga pulled off an 83 – 63 stunner over the local team.
2023 – 24 Spanish ACB Round 20 Results:
Bilba – Zaragoza 86 – 83
Tenerife – Muarcia 75 – 73
Manresa – Rio Breogan 83 – 68
Andorra – Badalona 79 – 86
Girona – Granada 80 – 61
Gran Canaria – Real Madrid 100 – 77
Barcelona – Palencia 102 – 94
Baskonia – Obradoiro 89 – 79
Valencia – Malaga 63 – 83
Standings: Real Madrid 17 – 3, Malaga 16 – 4, Barca 14 – 6…