An unlikely ending befalls Barça

BarcelonaThirty 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.

Kevin Punter's 37 points were decisive in helping Barça, a team of thousands of lives, recover a nine-point deficit, but the shooting guard again missed the decisive shot. The Catalan team took advantage of their excellent three-point percentages to compete above their capabilities against an extremely difficult opponent.

Joan Peñarroya made a move and placed Willy Hernangómez in the starting five, seeking to correct some of the flaws from the second game and attempting to extend the rotation of useful players. Unicaja, which aggressively attacked the opposing basket, maintained a very demanding pace. The strategy served to build an eight-point lead (22-14) and draw numerous personal fouls from Barça players. Hernangómez, Fall, and Brizuela all committed two in the first quarter.

The home team's lead grew to nine points (27-18). Barça took advantage of Kevin Punter's scoring prowess to stay in their chances of victory in Málaga. The shooting guard scored 18 points in a flash (38-38). The Blaugrana team, which improved its rebounding performance, scored five of its six three-pointers attempted during the second quarter (43-42).

Peñarroya altered the pace of the game by introducing a zone defense, and Unicaja began to miss more success from outside shots. Their three-point shooting percentages were very poor. Buoyed by their improved defense, Barça played with confidence on offense (53-64). The home team had doubts and, for the first time in the series, surrendered the initiative. The ghosts of the previous season hovered over the Martín Carpena stadium.

Barça responded to all of Unicaja's attempts and reached the final minutes with a good lead. Despite the lack of players due to injuries, the Blaugrana team was able to sustain the energy the game demanded. Unicaja clung to the contributions of the bench players to stay alive.

The personal foul call on Willy Hernangómez, following a childish technical foul with two and a half minutes remaining, added to the difficulty of the Blaugrana challenge, as they were winning by ten points (70-80). Unicaja reacted with an incredible 14-4 run through Tyson Pérez to tie the game with 8.5 seconds left (84-84). Punter missed the shot that would have prevented overtime.

In overtime, Punter added two consecutive 3+1 attempts to extend Barça's chances of a thousand lives, but Melvin Ejim put Unicaja ahead with two free throws with 5.5 seconds left. A block by Taylor on Satoransky sealed the Blaugrana elimination.

"It's a very tough defeat"

Unicaja will play Real Madrid in the Endesa League semifinals starting Wednesday. "It's a very tough defeat, like all season. We had the game won, but it slipped away. We fought and had a chance to win, but I can't blame my players for anything," analyzed Joan Peñarroya. "No one will say it, but we have to congratulate Barça, who have competed very well throughout the season despite the injuries. They deserve great respect. We played with heart, and that allowed us to get the victory in extra time. It's been a spectacular season. We've won four titles, but we still have ambition," opined Ibon Navarro.