A Barça team disfigured by injuries is falling apart

BarcelonaA Barcelona side decimated by injuries lost to Hapoel Tel Aviv (75-80). The Blaugrana suffered their sixth defeat in the last seven EuroLeague games, their fourth consecutive loss. Lacking accuracy from beyond the arc and with far fewer assists than usual, the Catalan team was unable to compete against the Israeli opponent. "We're in a very difficult situation. Everything has turned upside down. Everything is going wrong, and we're anxious. Defeats hurt, and we've entered a complicated situation," acknowledged Xavi Pascual. Toko Shengelia was unable to play due to a soleus muscle injury in his right leg. His absence added to that of Nico Laprovittola, who a few days ago suffered a complete rupture of the adductor longus tendon in his right thigh and will be out for three months. Furthermore, Darío Brizuela played while clearly hampered by injury.

The game was played behind closed doors. A few dozen protesters demonstrated in front of the Palau Blaugrana. Furthermore, supporters' groups expressed their rejection of the participation of Israeli teams in the EuroLeague "while the genocide against the Palestinian people and imperialist attacks in neighboring countries continue." According to Barça fans, "playing behind closed doors or in neutral arenas adulterates the competition."

Hapoel Tel Aviv started the game with very passive defense. Barça took advantage of this to build an initial seven-point lead (26-19). As the minutes passed, the soft team, the blue team, struggled to defend Dan Oturu, losing the initiative in both the game and the scoreboard (40-46).

Jan Vesely's fourth personal foul in the third quarter was another headache for Barça, who entered the final 13 minutes trailing by 10 points (54-64). Pascual adjusted the defense on Elijah Bryant, one of the key playmakers for the reigning Eurocup champions. The Blaugrana team reacted and narrowed the gap to reach the final two minutes with a chance of victory, but the experience of their opponents, both on the court and on the bench, prevented a comeback.