By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
FC Barcelona struggled in the fourth period but overcame defending champions CSKA Moscow at home with a 76-66 victory in the opening round of the new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.
Brandon Davies took charge for Barcelona with a game-high performance of 18 points (7/9 FG), four rebounds in his nearly 23-minute presence on the court.
“They made a run, especially in the third quarter, and we had to dig deep and stick together during times like that. Good teams like that are going to make runs, but I am proud of the guys and how we stuck together”, mentioned Davies post-game. Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius added: “When we are playing better, we always miss our concentration. It happened again tonight and I want to work on this as much as I can. A team like Barcelona must always seal the outcome and not allow opponents to return to the game.”
Nikola Mirotic picked up from where he left in the last campaign, adding 17 points, seven rebounds, and an impressive number of four steals in the game. Alex Abrines was close to registering a double-double with 13 points, 8 rebounds.
Sarunas Jasikevicius crossed paths with Dimitris Itoudis, with whom he had spent four years in Panathinaikos as a player, for the first time in the Barcelona bench and the results were in Barca’s favor as they outran their visitors when CSKA seemingly ran out of fuel.
The Army Team recovered from a seven-point deficit after the end of the third period (55-48) to put the pressure on their hosts at the start of the final period. Indeed, an early 7-2 run made things tough for Barcelona, though Abrines rose to the occasion to pace the Spanish team with six consecutive points that would eventually restore balance for the hosts.
Tornike Shengelia and Mike James were CSKA’s leading scorers with 15 and 13 points each, while Daniel Hackett also finished the game in double digits with 11 points. “We have a lot of things to say, but over here, in a short period, I would say this: that the game was decided in the first and fourth quarters, which Barcelona won by 13 points, and on the second and the third, we won by 3 points. Why I am saying this? Because on the first and fourth quarter, we turned over the ball 12 times and this is why we lost”, said coach Dimitris Itoudis in the presser.
Photo: Twitter / Barca Basket