A defense that went from less to more, the aim of

Kyle Kuric

in the triples and the control exhibited in the offensive rebound by Nikola Mirotic and, above all, Brandon Davies, were the great arguments of Barça to take a disputed victory against Fenerbahce and mathematically secure first place in the table one day after the end of the regular phase.

The locals tried to sell their defeat dearly, especially through a very inspired Marko Guduric (19 points, 22 PIR) and the talent of Nando de Colo and Kyle O'Quinn, but, in the end, they definitely fell to the knee in the last fourth dominated from start to finish by the Barça fans.

(73-82: Narration and statistics)

The duel started with an exchange of blows.

The locals, precisely through their most inspired players, managed to punish a less successful Barcelona defense than usual to open a gap of seven points (20-13) that would be answered in a devastating way by the Catalans.

There emerged, above all, Kuric's lethal wrist from beyond the 6.75 line to return the ball to his rival with a partial 0-11 and thus put the bases to end the first quarter with a very slight advantage in the marker (25-26).

Those of

Jasikevicius

, aware of the eternal demand of their technician in defensive matters, began to put the batteries a little more in the second quarter, although they did not manage to completely stop the effervescence of a rival more than willing to give a blow on the desk.

The control of the rebound and his outside shot, with Higgins and a Westermann apparently determined to shine before his former teammates by providing aim at the most opportune moments, would help Barça go to rest with a somewhat larger income and, in principle, better sensations (42-47).

Fenerbahce, however, returned after the break like a whirlwind.

The set of

Kokoskov

was able to get four points ahead of Barca (56-52) thanks to a partial 14-4 to which the club got over time.

Two three-pointers by Westermann and the defensive wear that the Frenchman always brings would be in part the keys for Barça to find a reaction that allowed them to stand in the last and final period again with an advantage in the light (58-62).

Barcelona's ability to dominate the rebound, of course, would also have a lot to do with that fact.

In the last quarter, the truth, Barça would no longer give Fenerbahce any type of option.

It was very significant that it was then that the Barça fans achieved a maximum advantage of 10 points (61-71) for the first time, which allowed them to fully consolidate their confidence in victory.

Davies would rise above all, imposing under the rim both to capture rebounds and to score against all odds, as the best argument of a team that pressed more than ever also in defensive tasks and finally took a very hard-fought victory 73-82 .

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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