ACB – quarters – day 1
Barcelona showed that it is a rival that should never be underestimated. Xavi Pascual’s team demonstrated this in the first game of the playoffs with a very solid victory against UCAM Murcia, who lost at the Palacio de los Deportes (68-91), where they had only lost twice this season. The Barça team opened a big gap in the second quarter, led by Darío Brizuela, and no longer allowed Sito Alonso’s men to react. Barça can decide the tie on Thursday at the Palau.
50
48| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMA | 26 | 24 | – | – | 50 |
| TEN | 21 | 27 | – | – | 48 |
Sito Alonso went into the break fuming. UCAM Murcia seemed like a toy in the hands of the reborn Barça, which reached the intermission with a comfortable and unexpected lead (30-46) on a field in which few rivals have sunk their teeth. A team that has been one of the sensations of the season did not work against another that has disappointed. The host team started on a good footing (10-5), but as soon as Xavi Pascual introduced new pieces to the board, the Blaugranas took off strongly. Satoransky took the temperature of the game, Vesely enriched the group, Clyburn made a great defense against DeJulius and, above all, he awakened an imperial Darío Brizuela. The San Sebastian player, more productive than Kevin Punter, swept the second quarter with 16 points and three assists, and put Barça 17 points ahead on the scoreboard (27-44).
Barcelona, which made more than half of the shots it attempted, which also dominated the rebound, seemed to continue doing its thing in the third quarter, where it took another step towards victory when it was 20 points ahead (39-59). But Sito Alonso was not willing to let go of a match that could be key in the series. He refused to travel to the Palau without the option of failure. He looked out onto the balcony of the bench and began to squeeze the players and the referee team. The Madrid coach forced a technique that ended up lighting up the Palacio de los Deportes and, after each Murcian basket, he turned to ask his fans for a little more noise, a little more support. He believed, and if Sito believed, all of Murcia believed.
But Barça, very serious, very focused, without being scared by the streaks of their opponent (50-64), happy with the statistics, continued on their way and as soon as they entered the last quarter, they once again put 20 points between the two teams (52-72). The experience of a great Will Clyburn and Jan Vesely transmitted calm to the Barça quintet.
“Now we are very excited to play a good game at home and give our fans a victory, because what happened to us the other day feels terrible to us.” [perdieron el último partido de la fase regular ante Valencia por 77-102]”, assured Pascual after the victory in Dazn. “It was a total block. And when we block, it seems that we don’t even want to play.”
