Direct Narration and statistics
Barça had to suffer a lot to end up taking a victory in extremis against Olympiacos in Piraeus (74-76).
The Catalans ruined in the third quarter the 10-point advantage with which they had managed to reach the break and had to entrust themselves at the last minute to the experience of Calathes and the appearance of Higgins to add a triumph that strengthens their leadership in the Euroleague .
Bartzokas's team pulled aggressively to try to win a duel that did not go to extra time almost miraculously.
The last slapping of
Printezis
, one of his props, was out of time.
Jasikevicius's team had a tremendously effective first quarter on defense.
Something that, with an
Oriola
unleashed in attack (10 points in the first 10 minutes), earned him to take it with a firm 12-21.
The one from Tárrega was not only found by the usual clairvoyance of
Calathes
, along with Mirotic and Higgins another of the Barça props, but Westermann, Hanga and the Californian also knew how to take advantage of their inspiration in painting.
The locals, meanwhile, tried to react hand in hand with Sloukas, although without much success.
An attempted reaction that, however, would come in the second quarter.
At least half.
And thanks, in part, to the scoring pothole of the Catalans.
But, when things got tighter for Jasikevicius, a triple from Smits and another from Hanga arrived to give them back command of the game.
The sparks of Printezis and Jean-Charles, who closed the period with a spectacular action after assistance from
Sloukas
, served the Greek team to reach the break ten points away on the scoreboard (30-40) when, just before, the Barça had managed to reach a maximum difference of 12 points.
The fireproof Spanoulis
Everything good that the Catalans had done in the first part of the game was left in borage water after the break.
McKissic's
tremendous aim
and Ellis's drive were decisive against a Barça absolutely denied in the defensive rebound and unable to easily find the rival basket.
Olympiacos was being used to the limit.
And his actions rarely had consequences.
Something that, however, was no excuse for the 15-2 with which the locals managed to turn the scoreboard in the first instance to go to the last quarter three points up thanks to a triple precisely by McKissic (53-50).
The different standards with which the referees seemed to measure each other despaired both the Barcelona team and Jasikevicius himself.
Olympiacos, apparently fully immersed in a positive dynamic, seemed to have everything in his power to take the victory, just as he did in the first round at the Palau.
When things looked worse, the elimination of Ellis and the emergence of Calathes, answered in part by the incombustible
Spanoulis
, would ultimately be decisive for Barça, although suffering until the last breath, to finally take the victory (74- 76).
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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