Barça's biggest threat doesn't bother Xavi Pascual: ARA's Instant Replay
The Blaugrana team overcomes injuries and defeats a Baxi Manresa side also missing key players
BarcelonaBarça's biggest threat, injuries, didn't hinder Xavi Pascual. Barça showed no signs of slowing down and defeated a Baxi Manresa team riddled with absences at the point guard position (62-89). Hours after the Manresa club announced the signings of Eli Brooks and Ferran Bassas, the Blaugrana team defeated them in a Catalan derby marked by absences. The Barça coach couldn't count on Toko Shengelia (groin injury) and Joel Parra (fractured nose). In addition, Jan Vesely suffered a sprain on an afternoon in which Marcus Norris made his ACB debut and Darío Brizuela led the Barça scoring.
Real Madrid suffers a tear
Baloncesto Girona couldn't surprise a Real Madrid team that's been improving week by week (112-76). Despite Sergio Scariolo resting players like Edy Tavares, Mario Hezonja, and Gabriel Deck, the Whites took advantage of their superior pace to rack up a high score. "We lacked defensive intensity throughout the game and weren't up to par. When we weren't accurate, they ran all over us. The game plan I had in mind was very different from what we saw, but we weren't able to execute it," admitted Moncho Fernández.
Goodbye to third place
Joventut let a 10-point lead slip away at UCAM Murcia (80-77). Penya, missing Simon Birgander on paternity leave, relinquished third place in the standings to an opponent enjoying an astonishing start to the season. Sam Dekker missed his fifth consecutive game. Two mistakes in the final seconds proved costly for the green-and-black team. "We executed poorly when we had the chance to force overtime, which would have made perfect sense," lamented Dani Miret.
No reward in Bilbao
Hiopos Lleida failed to secure a victory on the road against Surne Bilbao (93-75). A strong first half went unrewarded. Without James Batemon, the Lleida team struggled to score at the Bilbao Arena, conceding 61 points in the second half. "We're gutted because the first half was one of our best defensively this season. In the third quarter, Bilbao improved their physicality, and we weren't able to match it when we tried to make the game a bit more physical," analyzed Gerard Troba.