By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona is back on track and proved it after a big battle against Panathinaikos.
The “Blaugrana” prevailed 82-73 with Jabari Parker scoring 25 points, Dario Brizuela adding 16 points and Alex Abrines 12 points.
Kevin Punter had seven points on 2/10 FG, however, Kendrick Nunn also had an off night for Panathinaikos with seven points and 3/15 FG.
Still, Parker had some good words about his big opponent and former high school teammate: “It’s a blessing to be able to share the floor with him and I don’t take it for granted, only two more of my high school teammates are still playing”.
Jerian Grant scored 18 points for Panathinaikos, Cedi Osman added 14 and Juancho Hernangomez had 12 but the Greens dropped to a 13-8 record, two wins away from the top spot of the standings in a tie for the third spot with Monaco, while Barcelona improved to 12-9, just one win away from them on a tie between the 6th and the 10th position.
A fight until the end
The first was balanced for the first 15 minutes with Barcelona leading 30-29 after closing the first period trailing by three (21-18).
However, Panathinaikos closed the second quarter with a 9-0 run and went to the halftime break up by eight points (38-30). This advantage proved to be short-lived as Barcelona opened up the second half with their own 13-3 run, taking the 43-41 lead.
It was the start of a memorable quarter which ended with Barcelona leading 59-50, Jabari Parker reaching the 21-point mark, and a partial score of 29-12 in 10 minutes of action.
Panathinaikos was out of synch on both ends of the floor and the hosts jumped to a 10-point advantage (62-52) at the start of the fourth quarter after a Brizuela three.
With Parker and Brizuela making big shot after big shot, Barcelona held on until two minutes before the end with Cedi Osman making it a six-point game (73-67).
Jan Vesely answered back (75-67), and Juancho Hernangomez scored three (75-70), but Abrines added five more points (80-70) for Barcelona, and the game was over.
Photo credit: Barcelona/X