Barça lets go too much and Maccabi is in danger
MADRID, 7 Apr. (SportsFinding) –
Barça lost (80-104) this Thursday against Maccabi in their last game of the ‘Regular Phase’ of the Euroleague, held at the Palau Blaugrana, a bad match with the excuse of not playing anything and dosing minutes, against a rival fighting for fifth place.
Sarunas Jasikevicius’ men arrive first in the playoffs with their homework done for several weeks, but with two defeats that they will have to quickly forget. The other day against Olympiacos and now against the Tel Aviv team, the culé team let go perhaps too much. Maccabi, with a match pending, was far superior.
The culé team was always in tow and ended up collapsing in the last quarter. Between the 19 local turnovers and the 16 visitor triples, the game was always in the hands of Maccabi. Wilbekin (20 points) and Nunnally (18) stood out in a team that will reach the playoffs grown, dangerous for any rival.
With total rest for Laprovittola and Kuric, Barça missed the triples that the rival team did plug. Abrines was the one who helped in that facet, but the culé defense punctured like few times. Despite not having anything at stake, the 57 points at the break would leave a good anger from ‘Saras’, with a reaction after the break, but again a debacle in the last quarter (12-28).
Despite sharing the minutes a lot, with Jokubaitis returning after an injury, the culé coach had to pull Mirotic, Calathes and Sanli to continue in the game in the third quarter, although the young Nnaji stood out there. Nunnally had done damage in a first half in which he also ended up inspired by Wilbekin, a basket from almost the center of the field over the buzzer included (46-57).
The great success of three and a choral performance ended up breaking the game for Maccabi at the beginning of the last quarter. Barça suffered a new collapse, without regulars on the parquet, for the visiting festival. Those from Tel Aviv, who are waiting for the Efes ruling to be fifth, will arrive plugged in against whoever it is.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: BARÇA, 80 – MACCABI TEL AVIV, 104. (46-57, at halftime).
–EQUIPMENT.
BARÇA: Calathes (6), Abrines (17), Exum (6), Mirotic (13) and Nnaji (8) –starting quintet–, Smits (2), Jokubaitis (6), Bonilla (-), Martínez ( 8), Caicedo (2), Hayes (8), Sanli (4).
MACCABI TEL AVIV: Wilbekin (20), Evans (11), Nunnally (18), Williams (12) and Zizic (-) –initial quintet– Reynolds (9), Caloiaro (7), Ziv (7), Thomas (7), Sorkin (13), Dibartolomeo (-), Cohen (-).
–PARTIALS: 23-27, 23-30, 22-19, 12-28.
–REFEREES: Lamonica, Ryzhyk and Jovcic. Without eliminated.
–PAVILLION: Palau Blaugrana.