By Lefteris Moutis
Τhe memory fades over the years. The images are becoming black and white in the mind, the myth merges with reality and the truth begins to be a personal matter. Many people can admit that, when they talk about FC Barcelona of the early ’90s or Maccabi Tel Aviv before the new millenium, teams with great performances throughout the season, but not with a European championship in their trophy case. Nobody, however, forgets those who eventually climbed to the highest position of the podium. Because at the end of the day (or the year) only the result counts.
Is therefore FC Barcelona this season more successful than the previous two years? Based on the results, yes! They won the second game in playoffs against Unics Kazan (66-63), lead by 2-0 and are just one win away from Istanbul’s Final Four. Xavi Pascual said after last night’s game at “Palau Blaugrana”: “I am very happy because during the last two years we lost our second match in the play offs against Real Madrid and Panathinaikos“. In the first case, Catalans have qualified after winning twice in Madrid and the ended the season winning the Euroleague trophy, but last year they were eliminated after two losses in Athens.
The road to Istanbul is now open, but Barcelona is not playing like a favorite to go all the way. We must admit that they changed completely their style in comparison with previous years, focusing more on defense. Barca has the best defense in Euroleague, but struggled enough against the second best (Unics).
“We couldn’t run and score a lot of points in transition, neither take advantadge of their turnovers (18 vs 9),” Pascual said, but he was concerned more about some hidden details of the game: 83% of FC Barcelona’s points came from the starters (Huertas, Navarro, Mickeal, Lorbek, Ndong) and 35% of points (23 OF 66) were free throws.
At the end only the result counts! But are all these warning signs?