Barça comes back against Joventut and gets into the Super Cup final
MADRID, 24 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
FC Barcelona qualified for the Endesa Super Cup final thanks to a 91-74 victory in the Catalan derby of the second semi-final against Joventut de Badalona, who were better in the first half but saw in the second half how the by Sarunas Jasikevicius turned the match around.
The azulgrana team was a gale in the third quarter, where they completely devastated their rival, coming back from the match and putting an advantage that ended up being definitive. Despite the fact that La Penya was ahead for more than 17 of the 20 minutes of the first half, the 29-14 run after going through the changing rooms decided the match.
Nicolás Laprovittola, who played against his team for a year and a half, was the beacon of the Barça team, even breaking the record for three-pointers scored in a Super Cup match, with seven. The Argentine scored 26 points and was by far Barça’s best player, followed by Sanli with 12 points and Jokubaitis with 11.
The last and decisive quarter was a constant I want and I can’t on the part of Joventut, who was pressured by the great first half he had done and prey to the anxiety that Barça made him spend in the third period. Harry Ellenson, who finished with 14 points, was the leader among the rebels, who never found a way to score consistently as they had in the first half.
In fact, after the break, Barça left their rival with only 28 points, conceding 14 in each half, a very low figure. As if that were not enough, a clash between Ante Tomic and Sanli left the Croatian unable to continue due to a spectacular blow to the nose that left Carles Durán without one of his references.
If the second part was a Barcelona recital, the first was the opposite. The Catalans got off to a successful start with three-pointers and scored a lot, but Joventut quickly took the pulse of the match and took the lead to go 18-22 at the end of the first quarter.
In the next one, Durán clearly won the coaching battle against Jasikevicius, putting up mixed defenses that made the azulgranas desperate. In addition, in attack Kyle Guy showed his scoring ability, with 11 points in the first 20 minutes. This circumstance was adjusted by Barça to the point that the American did not score again throughout the match.
The percentages of both teams are not at all similar either between the two periods, since Barça barely scored half of the two-point shots they tried in the first half, something that they more than solved after the break. On the other hand, La Penya worsened his problems in attack to the point of ending up scoring only seven triples in 25 attempts, the same as his rival scored with a single player, Laprovittola.
After this triumph, Barça gets into the final, thus repeating the game that decided the title in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The ‘Clásico’ will once again decide the Endesa Super Cup, this time in Seville, this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. .
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: FC Barcelona, 91 – Joventut de Badalona, 74 (39-46, at halftime).
FC Barcelona: Satoransky (7), Laprovittola (26), Abrines (6), Sanli (12), Tobey (6) -initial five-, Vesely (-), Martínez (5), Kalinic (6), Higgins (5 ), Jokubaitis (11), Paulí (5) and Nnaji (2).
Joventut from Badalona: Vives (4), Guy (11), Parra (14), Ellenson (14), Tomic (13) -first five-, Kraag (-), Ribas (8), Feliz (5), Birgander ( 5) and Ventura (-).
–PARTIALS: 18-22, 21-24, 29-14 and 23-14.
–REFEREES: Daniel Hierrezuelo, Jordi Aliaga and Martín Caballero.
–PAVILLION: San Pablo Pavilion.