Sekulic invents an unexpected hero

BarcelonaBarça matured a year in a day. The 'blaugrana' team recovered from a 10-point deficit against Hapoel Tel-Aviv (90-93). Darío Brizuela became the unexpected hero on a day when Aleksander Sekulic was missing two point guards, Mo Gibson and Juan Núñez. The Basque shooting guard, who scored 22 points, had a decisive impact at the key moment. A basket by him with six seconds remaining decided the game, as Vasilije Micic missed the final three-pointer. The game was played in Sofia (Bulgaria).

Barça did not start the game on the right foot. Without accuracy in their shooting, the 'blaugrana' team had trouble keeping up with Hapoel Tel-Aviv's scoring rhythm (16-6). The 'culer' side reacted thanks to offensive rebounding. In addition, they used Justin Robinson's inspiration to improve their performance in attack. The 27 points scored by the visitors in the second quarter helped them to tie the score (46-46).

When the situation had become complicated again, Brizuela led a 2-20 run in favor of Barça (60-69). The Basque shooting guard, who scored 12 points in a flash, converted into a point guard to increase the pace of play for a Blaugrana team that, in addition, balanced its defense (64-73). The maximum visitor lead was 14 points (66-80). Despite Hapoel's final reaction, which brought them within a point, the Catalan team managed to maintain its advantage.