Two months after being fired from BarçaJoan Peñarroya returned to the Palau Blaugrana. The Partizan coach from Terrassa, who was greeted with applause, couldn't prevent another defeat for the Euroleague's bottom-ranked team (88-70). The Catalan team overcame a seven-point deficit to secure another victory and confirm the positive momentum since the arrival of Xavi Pascual, whose decisions seem to be paying off. Every move he makes is a success. Pascual welcomed back Darío Brizuela in a game without a clear hero. The victory was a collective effort. Barça improved as the game progressed and capitalized on his 21 assists. Jabari Parker was largely anonymous in his return to Barcelona.

A man from Terrassa who didn't find success at Barcelona has accepted the challenge of taking the reins of the toughest team in the world. Joan Peñarroya will try to turn around Partizan's difficult situation. The team currently sits in 18th place in the EuroLeague, but the standings aren't the main headache for a coach who must replace Zeljko Obradovic, a true legend of Serbian basketball. Fans tried to prevent Obradovic's resignation, but they were unsuccessful. The atmosphere between the fans and the players has become very strained, and some players are having to play at home while their own supporters boo them.

Barça wants Xavi Pascual to be the coach of their basketball team. The coach, with whom Juan Carlos Navarro spoke, is receptive, but demands a long-term contract and decision-making power when building the roster. The Catalan, who had committed to giving a talk with the Catalan Federation, is currently living in Gavà. His priority is to return to the EuroLeague, but Anadolu Efes is also interested in acquiring his services.

Barça is analyzing how to restructure its basketball section after the team hit rock bottom this Sunday with a defeat at Bàsquet Girona. The club has dismissed Joan Peñarroya, is looking for a replacement to revitalize the project from the bench, and, despite budget limitations, is exploring options to strengthen its frontcourt. The Terrassa-born coach will be replaced on an interim basis by Óscar Orellana. Joan Laporta's favorite is Xavi Pascual, but the coach is asking for a long-term contract and that his vision for building a competitive team be respected, a condition that entails significant financial demands that the club rejected a few months ago. "After Roger Grimau, there were approaches, but they didn't turn into any concrete offers. They asked me if I was available," Pascual explained in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio.

After two very poor seasons and with an economic climate that doesn't allow for major investments, Barça's basketball team needs to reinvent itself. The big problem is that the Blaugrana club can't compete with the large European budgets, but neither can it imitate the strategy it implemented in football, when cash constraints served to accentuate the focus on young players. The new international landscape allows American universities to offer contracts that the club can't afford. This causes promising young players to leave for the United States at an increasingly early age. The departures of Kasparas Jakucionis and Dame Sarr will be emulated by Mathieu Grujicic and Raúl Villar.

Thirty years after Michael Ansley's legendary missed three-pointer, Unicaja got rid of the thorn and eliminated Barça (97-95). Two days after his worst game, the Blaugrana team put on a very ambitious display in Málaga, where they had a win in their pocket. The Catalan team squandered a 10-point lead in less than three minutes, and the game went into overtime, where the home side improved.

The Barça of a thousand lives couldn't seal the quarterfinal tie against Unicaja and will have to play their qualification match to play the Endesa League semifinals in Malaga. The Blaugrana suffered a painful defeat against an opponent who knew how to accentuate all their flaws (59-81). The Catalan team's shooting percentages were poor, as was their defense.

A Barça team with more courage than available players won the first game of the quarterfinal tie against Unicaja (97-101). The Blaugrana team was able to recover from an eleven-point deficit. The duel, which was decided in overtime, had a handful of unexpected twists and turns, and both teams alternated periods of effectiveness with others of frustration.

Getting the basketball section back on track is the first big challenge for Xavier O'Callaghan, who was appointed Barça's new director of professional sports a few weeks ago. The former handball player, a man who has Joan Laporta's full confidence, adds the coordination of sporting decisions to the management side that he already controlled. "When the president asks you to do something, you can't say no. I had no doubts," he acknowledged a few days ago in an interview on TV Vandellòs.