Barça entrusts itself to Laprovittola and ends Fenerbahçe’s unbeaten run

The invincibility of Fenerbahce it ended at the Palau, to which he returned Calathes discreetly (8 points, 3 rebounds) after his unexpected departure from Barça this summer. The team of Jasikevicius took the victory against the leader of the Euroleague after six days in an agonizing end (81-80), which did not do justice to the good feelings left by the Barça team, dominating by up to 16 points in the third quarter, with a recital of laprovittolaauthor of 26 points, again the soul of a team that was solvent in defense and also had excellent minutes of Kalinic (14 points) and Toby (13).

If he Barca is growing this season through defense, Fenerbahce He has made her his best endorsement. That is one of the reasons why he arrived at the Palau as leader and undefeated in the competition and why he used it at the Palau for many minutes. The other, obviously, is the enormous offensive arsenal that he has, with players like Wilbekin, Guduric, Mahmutoglu and a new talent in the area, Jonathan Motleyincorporated this summer from Kuban, who finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds.

In this scenario of maximum physical exhaustion, with the two teams committed to sealing the hoop (the Barca he only conceded a three-pointer in the first 20 minutes), the game was getting tougher and thicker by the minute. This explains, for example, the bet of Jasikevicius giving the young man many minutes Nnaji Of start. The excessive refereeing zeal with the blocks or the minimum contacts did not help to give it dynamism either, with decisions that cut the game too short.

In this tactical balance between Jasikevicius and Itoudis, the appearance of Laprovittola, as it happens lately, it turned out to be a blessing for the azulgranas. There was no way to find clarity in the systems, until the Argentine point guard blew up the defensive network of the Fenerbahce. His three-pointers gave Barça an emotional boost that regained control of the match, although Laprovittola found himself too alone in attack and the improvement in the team’s image was not reflected in the half-time scoreboard, more balanced than it deserved (39-36) .

From tranquility to nerves

The inspiration of the Argentine base remained at the same level in the restart and was the engine that propelled Barça to open the first gaps and to change the dynamics of a pulse marked by balance until then. In absence of miroticwho follows the matches from the sideline while awaiting medical discharge, laprovittola took over the show for many phases with spectacular actions that lit up the Palau.

Hooked on Lapro’s inspiration and also excellent defensive work, Jasikevicius’s team confirmed that they are still taking steps forward and that they are beginning to radiate the consistency that their coach wants. His best minutes stretched the differences to 16 points (60-44) and put the Turkish team in a delicate situation, which was able to reduce the punishment before the last period (62-49).

The Fenerbahce He regained hope with a 2-8 run at the beginning of the last quarter that greatly tightened the score (67-60, m. 33). The defense worked again in the Itoudis team, with Wilbekin and Calathes seated, and found the baskets of Guduric and, in particular, of Mahmutoglu to relaunch their options in a final stretch of exchange of blows. But, in those moments of maximum pressure from the Turkish team, he appeared again laprovittolaalso Toby and a splendid Kalinicauthor of a key triple with 36 seconds to go, to ensure a more than hard-fought victory and reinforce the positive Barça line.

Related news