‘Rambo’ returns to the Palau

The pivot with a Ugandan passport will be one of the dangers of Olimpia Milano on Friday at the Palau (8:30 p.m.)

Along with Brandon Davies, Deshaun Thomas and point guard Kevin Pangos complete the trio of former Barça players

After last week’s marathon of matches, Sarunas Jasikevicius has finally had four days to prepare for the difficult duel this Friday at the Palau (8:45 p.m., DAZN) against an EA7 Olimpia Milano Called to fight to access a Final Four in which he was two seasons ago with defeat against Barça in the semifinals.

With two victories and two defeats, the azulgrana team will look for the third to catch up in the table to an Italian team that arrives with 3-1 and without one of his best stilettos, former Baskonia player Shavon Shields.

Under the orders of former Madrid coach Ettore Messina, Olimpia Milano has ‘fished’ in the excluded Russian basketball with the signings of Johannes Voigtmann (CSKA) and shooter Billy Baron, ex-Zenit by Xavi Pascual.

The meeting will mean the return to the Palau of three players who left different memories in the fans and in the team Canadian Kevin Pangos was injured throughout the 2019-20 season with Pesic on the bench (he ended up signing for Zenit) and his name rang up again two summers ago when he tried his luck at the Cavaliers. By the way, he was signed by CSKA and he is in Milan as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

American forward DeShaun Thomas He had an irregular performance under the orders of Xavi Pascual in his only season as a Barça player (2014-15) and he did not continue… although he could have done it perfectly.

The most controversial case is that of Brandon Davis, who went from hero to villain because of his lousy ending last season. ‘Rambo’ arrived at Barça in 2019 at the request of Saras (he had trained him at Zalgiris between 2017 and 2019) and became one of the Palau’s idols due to his spectacular nature and his movements that in some cases reminded the legendary Audie Norris .

However, problems began as the course wore on and his renewal cooled. He ended up reaching an agreement with Olimpia Milano and his performance plummeted, showing a lack of attitude that the team accused. “It was an economic issue. We didn’t get where Milan could go and he chose his destiny. We made a lot of efforts to make him stay,” Saras said yesterday.

Abrines returns

After missing a game due to a head injury, Alex Abrines It will be the novelty of a Barça that trusts to have Kuric next week (He is also recovering from a severe blow to the head and his history calls for caution). They would remain in the infirmary Mirotic (he will return in December) and Sergi Martínez, operated on a knee and KO at least until February.

“With Kuric and Mirotic out, who are two players who shoot between 15 and 20 times a game, I have tried to step forward to help the team. There are better days and worse days, but I want to contribute as much as I can,” said the former Oklahoma City Thunder player.