An unexpected defeat resuscitates Barça's ghosts

BarcelonaBarça, bewildered by the refereeing and the zonal defense set up by Sito Alonso, lost to UCAM Murcia (87-90). The Blaugrana team played with fire and ended up getting burned against an opponent who knew how to play their cards. The quarter-final tie will be decided on Saturday in Murcia. Joel Parra and Kevin Punter missed two three-pointers to force overtime, but the final stretch was conditioned by some refereeing decisions heavily criticized by the locals. "We fought and we competed, but the last two personal fouls decided the game. They had great success," lamented Xavi Pascual.

Aware that it had no other option, UCAM Murcia entered the game with more energy than on Tuesday, and this allowed them to build a six-point lead in the opening minutes (5-11). Sito Alonso used defensive variations to modify the offensive spaces of a Barça that only made two shots in the first five and a half minutes. The rival team set the pace during a first quarter with a visiting accent (18-22).

Barça used Joel Parra's grit to react, but the Blaugrana team was not able to tie the game until the 15th minute (29-29). Far from giving up, UCAM Murcia took advantage of David DeJulius's inspiration and the Catalan team's lack of mobility to regain the lead (34-41). Without success in three-point shooting, the locals struggled to turn the situation around before halftime (40-43).

A Palau Blaugrana in need of good news spurred Barça on at the start of the third quarter, when UCAM Murcia struggled to match the physical level of the home team (51-46). The talent of Punter, Clyburn, or Shengelia complicated Sito Alonso's strategy, but his players' reaction was immense. Led by a DeJulius in a state of grace, the visitors turned the situation around, but the point guard's injury was a headache for the visiting coach (66-67).

The alarms went off with six and a half minutes left, when UCAM Murcia once again altered Barça's shooting positions (70-76). Darío Brizuela's outburst allowed the Barça team to keep pace. Annoyed with the refereeing, the Catalan team went through a critical moment, but regained the lead with two minutes left (85-84).

The game reached the last minute tied. An offensive foul by Jan Vesely frustrated Xavi Pascual, his players, and the fans, who did not understand the criteria in the final seconds. UCAM Murcia took advantage of free throws to reach the last 13.3 seconds with a three-point lead (87-90). Joel Parra and Kevin Punter missed two three-pointers and the victory went to the visiting team.

La Penya, at the Olímpic

Asisa Joventut wants to avoid this Friday (9 p.m., DAZN) the first match ball against them. La Penya needs to beat Kosner Baskonia at the Palau Olímpic to force a third game in the quarter-final tie. “We have to play like we did for the first 30 minutes on Wednesday and do our job well. Close out the rebounds as we did in the first three quarters and play better against their zone defense, which hurt us in the last period. And above all, be more solid. We can compete against this Baskonia. They are a very good team, but as we showed, we entered the last period winning. We need all the fans, for them to help us. An atmosphere similar to the AEK game, which was incredible,” says Dani Miret. Furthermore, Surne Bilbao and Valencia Basket are playing the second game of their tie (7 p.m., DAZN).

Madrid defeated La Laguna Tenerife and tied their series (83-118).