Barça grits its teeth to dream again

BarcelonaBarça won in overtime against Estrella Roja in a game worthy of two aspirants to dispute the play-offs for the title (92-88). The Blaugrana team, which improved its performance in recent days, gritted its teeth to secure the third consecutive victory in the Euroleague. The Culé defense ended the options of a tough opponent to beat and reconnected the Catalan team with its fans.Estrella Roja opened the game with more energy and good decisions. The Serbian team set a very high bar of intensity against a Barça that needed time to reach the same competitive level (10-17). Rivero and Bolomboy accentuated the interior defensive shortcomings of the Culé team.

Once they understood what was at stake, the home team's performance improved. Joel Parra led the reaction of a Barça team that took a step forward in defense (40-32). The improvement was very evident near the basket. Furthermore, decision-making in attack was good. A visiting run of 2-8 served to adjust the score before halftime, when Kevin Punter was left with three personal fouls (42-40).Despite a good game from Jordan Nwora, Barça was able to punish the turnovers of a Crvena Zvezda team that reached the last ten minutes with a six-point deficit (64-58). The home team's lead never grew too much, and the Serbian opponent took advantage of free throw misses to tie the game with 4.6 seconds left. Will Clyburn missed the final three-pointer at the buzzer, and the game was decided in overtime. In the extra period, the home team was better.

From the laundry to the riots

The match started half an hour later than scheduled. The Euroleague described the delay as a "logistical necessity". The specific problem was that the laundry service had damaged the Estrella Roja's kits, who played in Vitoria against Kosner Baskonia on Wednesday.As the Serbian team had traveled without their second kit, the parties involved sought an emergency solution. A club employee traveled from Belgrade to Barcelona with an alternative set of shirts. His flight, however, landed just minutes before the match, meaning the start time had to be delayed.Some Serbian fans were unable to enter the Palau Blaugrana, as Barça limited their access to the areas reserved for visiting fans. The clashes caused incidents and at least one security operative ended up injured.