The journey in the Barça desert was so long that the pain of the lost final multiplied until it was unbearable.
He returned to the heights, a decade of failed projects, of wasted millions, of inexplicable decisions, of the alien tyranny of Real Madrid, and there he met an Anadolu Efes of talents, the wild group of Ergin Ataman and those two devils,
Vasilije Micic
and
Shane Larkin
, who made the Turks the new and deserved king of Europe.
[Narration and statistics (81-86)]
Barça failed one step away from glory, so close to their third Euroleague, the perfect start of the
Sarunas Jasikevicius era
, that he felt it with his fingertips. Mainly at the dawn of a final in which he deflated, in which he lost energy and never found the necessary inspiration, even if he fought until the final honk in Cologne. He is disappointed, but after the tears, he should draw the necessary lesson. The most solid empires have their pillars in well assimilated defeats.
It was the lost final of
Pau Gasol as
well, perhaps his last option to add that crown to the record, that of
Nick Calathes's
physical problems
that conditioned everything, that of
Nikola Mirotic's
new trigger
, again improper the deployment of who by cache and salary should be absolute leader.
But it was also, and more resounding if possible, the final of Micic, a base in the path of the great European metronomes, dominant, brave, almighty at the Lanxess Arena.
Efes achieves its first continental crown (the second for Turkey after Fenerbahçe in 2017) the one that the pandemic 'snatched' from a year ago.
This team that in 2018 was the bottom of the competition and a year later surprising finalist in Vitoria.
Exemplary defense at the start
And that the presentation culé could not be more full. There are defining attitudes. When the hunger of the one who is willing to do everything on a court appears.
Jasikevicius
has been determined since he landed in Barcelona, the city that fell in love with him in his Lithuanian youth, in which he was champion and later idol, to instill that "bastard" mentality in his pupils. Just as important as your tactical demands.
To delve further into that aggressiveness, and once Calathes was minimally fit, he inserted a war expert.
The year has been an ordeal for
Víctor Claver
, who underwent plantar fasciitis surgery in December, but a world champion is there for these scenarios.
His initial zeal for Micic rubbed off on the rest.
Barça was a nuisance of fast hands, perfect assists, offensive rebounds that alleviated the mistake, pressure to all court if necessary and the first line of attack a torture for Efes.
The defense that
Saras
asked for
after suffering the semifinal against Olimpia.
And
Brandon Davies
owning the painting.
15 points in the first act of the best attack in Europe, three between his two demons, Micic and Larkin.
FRIEDEMANN VOGELEFE
But a good first step needs continuation.
The push to Barça did not last long.
After the maximum (25-15), more than reacting Efes, the Catalan team collapsed, entangled in its own mistake, without news of a Mirotic who went into the break without scoring.
A 4-21 run that turned the German night around.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
If
Sertac Sanli
had been the only one to pupate in the beginning, then another supporting actor appeared,
Tibor Pleiss
.
A minimal Barça reaction with a triple by
Kyle Kuric
- plus Pleiss' injury and Sanli's third foul - gave him breath before the break.
A first part of nerves and tension, of 22 free throws, thick, 17 missed triples and 16 losses between them.
Always in tow
Barça's problem was that Efes was very much alive, that Micic had already put his unstoppable mode on. The MVP, the NBA-bound base, deployed his entire arsenal of talent, 11 points and a thousand tricks to unbalance the now declining Barça defense. The lead was stretched (41-52) and only the almost heroic appearance of
Corey Higgins
prevented further drama. Mirotic scored his first basket in play - a triple after feint in which he had a world to think about - in the 29th minute.
Already always in tow, those of Jasikevicius, who had not stepped on a final since the one they won in 2010 in Paris, managed to press until they equalized the crash.
It was a work of pure ardor, like his way to Cologne, those quarters against Zenit, that semifinal against Olimpia.
Each basket was a bloodletting, but
Mirotic managed to tie with less than five minutes to go (69-69)
.
A titanic effort that ended up paying off.
Because, despite the fouls, Micic returned to court and a triple of his, stratospheric, was the beginning of the Barça end.
Larkin was well with him and Barça no longer had the necessary clairvoyance in their attacks without Calathes, with a
Leandro Bolmaro
as meritorious as he was inexperienced.
It is the sixth of eight European Cup finals that the Catalans have lost in their history.
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Know more
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