By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Overcoming a sluggish start, FC Barcelona overpowered Partizan Mozzart Bet in Palau Blaugrana.
Further establishing second place in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings, the Catalonia outfit earned a win, 94-76, in Round 29 of the Regular Season.
It was the eighth consecutive win in the head-to-head series versus Partizan.
Nearing 80% in two-point attempts stood out for the team guided by Roger Grimau on Thursday. Four players put up a double-digit scoring effort on the way to 20-9 with a second straight win in Europe’s premier club continental competition. Eight players went into double-digits in performance index rating.
Experienced floor general Nicolas Laprovittola tucked in five triples en route to a team-high 17 points, going over 12 points for a sixth straight EuroLeague game. “I think we are doing a very good job during the season. We have to keep the confidence in our team,” he underlined.
Ricky Rubio put in seven points, six rebounds, six assists, and one steal for the reigning ACB champions. “It is a step closer to where we want to be,” the 33-year-old point guard commented on the best individual performance since recently returning to action following a break to focus on his mental health.
“We played aggressive. We knew they had a really good team and they can get hot. I think we controlled [Kevin] Punter,” Rubio referred to holding the 30-year-old guard to six points over nearly 25 minutes, “We played good overall, the whole team. It was a good win.”
Facing his first EuroLeague team, Jan Vesely extended a double-digit PIR streak to seven outings with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Willy Hernangomez added 15 points, Rokas Jokubaitis had 13 points, and Jabari Parker threw in 12 more points. Oriol Pauli was a healthy scratch.
“We did a great job in defense. Probably for the whole game, but especially in the second half,” noted Grimau.
After 19 points in the first half, Aleksa Avramovic finished with a game-high 27 points behind 10/16 field goals. Zach LeDay followed with 16 points in Barcelona. Jaleen Smith and Balsa Koprivica were left out of the lineup.
“They played better. They deserved to win. They played excellent basketball,” was the reaction of Zeljko Obradovic. His side was forced down to 13-16, after starting the week tied at the bottom end of the Play-In zone.
A two-game week is coming up
In a demanding week, Barca takes on Fenerbahce Beko and Panathinaikos on the road, on Wednesday and Friday. Before tackling the double-game week and looking to go up to 17-8 in Spain’s Liga Endesa, a home game versus Rio Breogan is on Sunday.
After hosting FMP Soccerbet in Round 23 of the AdmiralBet ABA League Regular Season on Saturday, the defending champions in the regional league welcome Baskonia on Tuesday and Real Madrid on Thursday in EuroLeague action.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net