By Alex Molina/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona defeated Crvena Zvezda on their home court with a score of 80-72 in the Play-In match, thus remaining in the race for the EuroLeague Quarterfinals.
In a duel where it was clear that the loser would end their season, Xavi Pascual’s team defended their home court without much trouble and achieved an important victory.
Will Clyburn and Kevin Punter, with 22 points each, were the main protagonists of the match, with good minutes also from Tomas Satoransky (11 points and 7 assists). Codi Miller-McIntyre was the top scorer for the visiting team with 19 points.
The start of the game had a clear protagonist. Will Clyburn opened the first quarter with a 6/6 in three-pointers, allowing the Blaugrana to close the first ten minutes with a 29-21 in their favor, which was fantastic news. Xavi Pascual had already warned that it would be crucial to start ahead on the scoreboard, and his players managed to do so, going into halftime with a 47-33.
If the feelings were good at the end of the first half, jubilation fully arrived at the Palau Blaugrana in the third quarter. For the first time, the local lead reached twenty points (54-33), creating an atmosphere of certain relaxation… which proved to be fatal.
Finishing the last quarter with a 63-51 would be good news in almost any scenario… but not today. It was evident that Crvena Zvezda was reacting and that Barca started speculating too early. Xavi Pascual was calling and canceling timeouts constantly as Vesely kept the team afloat, but in no case were they playing the way Barca wanted.
Many minutes later, the Blaugrana lead dropped to single digits (70-61) and even reached a +7 (75-68). And who appears when the ball is burning the most? Kevin Punter, who took responsibility to provide calm in the final stretch until the hard-fought victory.
On Friday, Barcelona will visit Monaco in the fight for the eighth place and a Quarterfinal series against Olympiacos.