Another devastating injury derails Barça

Barcelona"The more important a player is for Barça, the more often he gets injured." Sergio Scariolo summed up Barça's latest setback better than anyone else, when they lost Kevin Punter. The Blaugrana team was unable to overcome the emotional blow of the devastating news and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey in Las Palmas (91-86). The Catalan team squandered a 12-point lead against a La Laguna Tenerife that went from strength to strength in the quarter-final tie. "We have stopped attacking well and creating plays, we have stopped," said Joan Peñarroya.

Marcelinho Huertas, a former Barça player, became the oldest player of all time to play in a Copa del Rey match. The 41-year-old Brazilian point guard once again offered a differential performance.

The match began with an exchange of points in which the defenses became another spectator. Barça scored 33 points in the first ten minutes in which the island team only committed one personal foul (23-33). The figure was the highest in the history of the tournament in a first period. The Blaugrana team took advantage of the good shooting percentages to open a 12-point gap on the scoreboard against a Tenerife that clung to Huertas and Fitipaldo to keep its options alive (47-54).

Barça suffered a painful setback when Punter left the match due to a shoulder injury. Paralysed by the emotional blow, the Blaugrana team lost effectiveness in attack. Peñarroya turned to Justin Anderson, who he had intended to reserve, but Tenerife completed the comeback six minutes from the end (76-75). The culé's aim faltered. Distressed by the situation, the Catalan team did not know how to react and was outplayed by a mentally superior rival. The final score was 25-13.

Joventut, for its part, was unable to surprise against Unicaja (100-83). Despite Sam Dekker's good offensive game, Penya was not able to match the scoring pace of the 2023 champion.

Penya began struggling to control the rebound and limit Unicaja's transitions (21-13), but reacted thanks to the step forward of its outside shooters. The green-and-black team scored six of the new three-pointers it attempted during the second quarter (42-42).

The defense of the Badalona team was not able to stop Unicaja's pace during a second half that was cruel to Joventut's interests. The 58 points received after the break ended the options of the team coached by Dani Miret. "It was a hard blow because we were doing well, but when they accelerated, our defense was not good enough to have a chance of competing," analyzed the coach, who gave debut to Ian Platteeuw, a young man of just seventeen.

Baxi Manresa, with serenity

Baxi Manresa will be in action this Friday, when they will play against Real Madrid (18:30 CET). "We have to do normal things in a different environment. I hope that, whatever happens, people will feel proud of us," says Diego Ocampo, coach of the Baxi Manresa team. In addition, Dreamland Gran Canaria and Valencia Basket will play the last round (21:30 CET).