Barcelona stifles Obradoiro's reaction in the last quarter
The Barcelona, with a sweet hangover after signing the pass to the Final Four of the Euroleague, defeated a competitive Monbus Obradoiro at the Palau Blaugrana (76-70), in an even game that was decided in the last quarter by the talent of the local players.
Led by Leo Westermann (14 points) and with a remarkable performance by Pau Gasol (12 points), the Barça team signed a hard-fought victory against a rival who stood up to Steven Enoch in the area (17 points) and the defensive alternatives proposed by Moncho Fernández.
In the first half it was already glimpsed that Barça faced the match with one march less. After the intense European tie against Zenit Saint Petersburg, Jasikevicius's men entered the game without the tension they showed last Tuesday.
Perhaps for this reason, the Galician team stayed alive in the first 20 minutes (36-28), despite the very low shooting percentages (4 of 13 in shots of two and 3/14 from the 6.75 meter line ).
The duel between Álex Suárez and Pau Gasol was the highlight of the first half with many offensive errors by both teams (18-17).
The second act began with the second Barça unit pressing on defense and Rolands Smits and Kyle Kuric appearing from the perimeter. A 9-0 run in favor of the Catalans forced Monchado Fernández to request a time-out (27-20, min.14).
His team reacted from free throws and with Chris Cerapowicz ending four minutes without scoring. Obradoiro did the rubber band, but Barça, hand in hand with a participative Westermann, lined up to a ten-point advantage (34-24, min.18).
Obradoiro did not let himself go before the break and, with Daum and Enoch in the zone, he prevented his rival from exceeding a ten-point lead (36-28).
At the restart, five consecutive points from Ozmizrak (36-33, min. 22) woke up Barça, who printed one more march in defense to try to get the meeting back on track.
Without holes in the back, everything was easier for the locals in attack. Barça ran with Bolmaro and easily found Mirotic in the area. A partial 17-4 placed the Catalans with a comfortable income (53-37, min.27), but Obradoiro did not stop fighting.
Cerapowicz and Enoch gave their team offensive oxygen, while Moncho Fernández bothered Barça with a defense in the zone.
A) Yes, the Galician team faced the last ten minutes with still options to fight for the win (57-48).
The positive dynamics of the Obradoiro was confirmed in the first bars of the last quarter. The Galician defense forced Barça to rush with shots to the limit of possession. Daum and Enoch, under the hoops, They were approaching Obradoiro with six minutes to go (62-60).
But in the last bars, Barça moved the ball patiently, defended with intensity and the success of Abrines and Westermann, from the perimeter, they did the rest.
A 12-5 run (74-65, min.39) ended Obradoiro's resistance, which has the mathematical permanence to a victory
76 - FC Barcelona (18 + 18 + 21 + 19): Calathes (4), Westermann (14), Abrines (11), Mirotic (11), Oriola (4) -starting five-, Claver (-), Hanga (-), Smits (7), Gasol (12), Bolmaro (10) and Kuric (3)
70 - Monbus Obradoiro (17 + 11 + 20 + 22): Ozmizrak (8), Beliauskas (2), Enoch (17), Daum (9), Czerapowicz (14) -starting five-, Cohen (11), Muñoz (-), Robertson (3) and Suárez (6).
Referees: Fernando Calatrava, Javier Torres and Yasmina Alcaraz. Without eliminated.
Incidents: Match of matchday 34 of the Endesa League played at the Palau Blaugrana without an audience. AND
