There is no mercy when the need tightens. There Barcelona has the much-awaited league reconquest, the one that it has pursued without fortune since 2014 , at the distance of a match in La Fonteta. They passed over the azulgrana of the dream of a summer night of the San Pablo Burgos, determined not to let more illusions spring up, overwhelming from start to finish. [98-84: Narration and Statistics]

The culé merit was that of not falling into the Burgos temptation, that of not succumbing to the impetus of one who does not want to wake up from his fantasy. No one will erase the Endesa League semifinalist San Pablo, occupying a space reserved for so few, a situation as meritorious as it is difficult to repeat. But Barça engulfed him with a mixture of success, muscle, seriousness and head. Without needing his star too much, just 17 minutes on the track Nikola Mirotic (18 points), physically touched from the first phase, devouring in defense and martyring from the perimeter with an excellent Kyle Kuric and the masterful direction of Thomas Heurtel (11 assists) , increasingly similar to the one before the injuries.

The establishment managed by Svetislav Pesic is so luxurious, so many unlimited resources, that there is always a plan B, C or D. His three discards (Bolmaro, Pustovyi and Pangos) or the two pieces that he did not even have to use in his rotation (Pau Ribas and Roland Smits) , would be very titular in Burgos, a club that covers its entire budget with the salary of Mirotic, who lost his reference (Earl Clark) during confinement. Compensating for such inequality requires tons of illusion and even a kamikaze point in battle. This is how feats are written that remain forever in the collective memory. That TDK of 1998 ...

The joy of the warm-up wheel, the screams, the chants, the constant encouragement, were the mask of Castilian ambition. Also from his fledgling nervousness. In the less deserted Fonteta - the protocol extended the ACB to 20 people per club - contrasted with the seriousness of Barça's roller. Joan Peñarroya was not smiling either . And any glimpse of party ended with the ball in the air.

Arbitration controversies

There the tension arose. The small for being in a place that is not customary, the large for the obligation of his mission, on notice with what had happened to Real Madrid. The intensity between squeaks of shoes cut the atmosphere and the difference was soon marked by the defense of Barça, several marches above, without any chance for the few Burgos weapons. It was a brilliant start (8-0) , although the worst was yet to come. Because the arbitration was determined to entangle everything, clearly harming those who worst manage those scenarios. Between techniques and unsportsmanlike, easy trigger Hierrezuelo in the silences of La Fonteta, the game was going to San Pablo (35-19, min. 15).

Peñarroya's heroes soon seemed like boxed fighters. Barça shook them mercilessly, showing their arsenal. Claver, Kuric, Tomic ... Not even the finest Mirotic was needed in the downpour. And then, while plunging into an otherwise logical abyss, the Burgos resurfaced, with the self-love that has made them unforgettable, rebelling against their own mistakes, throwing fear on the wound, leaving its mark. And, in the blink of an eye, they managed to get hooked on a match that seemed broken. Augusto Lima emerged to lead a 6-22 quarter that equaled the bout and made them go to rest believing.

How to follow the blaugrana trail without fainting? How to fit so many blows and not kiss the canvas? Barcelona returned to its suffocating normality, at a locomotive rhythm. And Burgos responded with its guerrilla war. But neither oxygen nor strength reached him. And Benite , his great offensive reference throughout the tournament (16.6 points on average), had a hard time scoring. The third quarter was another torture, crowned with a triple by Brandon Davies (72-58).

And in the last one, despite the touch on the spur of the moment, the success appeared from the Barça perimeter, more determined than ever the Barça players with Heurtel at the controls, with Kuric deadly, with up to seven players above nine points, to bury any option , to end Cinderella, to get closer to that CBA that justifies the enormous investment and reconciles them with their past.

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Know more

  • Burgos
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