By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Barcelona had several standouts; however, Nicolas Laprovittola, with 15 points and seven assists, made a big difference.
“Lapro” reminded everyone how much his injury affected Barcelona last year, when he practically missed the whole season and was never really replaced.
As he said on his flash interview after the game: “I missed it in the last season, and I prepared myself to be the leader again of this team. Maybe in a different role than in the past, but I am really confident about what we can do on the court with these experienced teammates. We can compete against everybody”.
So the bottom line for him is the return to action: “I am glad to be back, and I am glad to be playing with this kind of players.”
That’s why he didn’t like to speak a lot about his personal stats, but about the team performance of Barcelona: “We are a team and we show that today. We played as a team. We followed the plan, and I think that’s the key: how we play together, not individually. We have to improve, we have to keep this energy, and we have to keep playing with this confidence”.