By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona had a feeble performance for 25 minutes, facing many difficulties against Zalgiris Kaunas, but in the end, got the victory 66 – 59,and, with it, the qualification to the playoffs. The Catalans have finished third in their Top 16 Group and now are waiting to find out their opponent, between Panathinaikos and Lokomotiv Kuban. At the same time, this result showed the “end of the road” sign to Olympiacos and Brose Baskets.
Although his team’s game against its hosts could not really be characterized as “qualitative”, Coach Pascual was fortunate to have two specific players – one in each half- in a great day, ready to patch up all the holes in their team’s overall dysfunctional performance. Joey Dorsey made the start by keeping his team on its feet in the start of the match, by scoring 9 out of Barcelona’s 16 points in the first quarter, while finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
As for the one that put his signature mark in the end, that was no other than Pau Ribas who “punished” Zalgiris‘ poor perimeter defense in the third quarter by scoring 14 points in the last 13 minutes of the game, with 4/4 three-pointers. He also threw the “dagger” which made it 57 – 63, with 50 seconds to go, and then Alex Abrines pushed it deeper in the heart of his opponents with a transition dunk that sealed the fate of the game.
Although they had no practical interest in the game, the Lithuanians didn’t seem willing to simply fall prey to their opponents’ appetites. Their strong defense and Paulius Jankunas’ leadership (11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals) had allowed them to be in the driver’s seat at halftime (34-28). They kept their lead up until the mid of the third period… when the Ribas show began. In the end, the sheer will and quality of Barcelona made the obvious difference, reflected in the final result.