The Palau explodes against Barça's apathy

BarcelonaValencia Basket exposed the shortcomings of a Barça that will have to play the quarterfinals with home-court advantage against them (77-102). The Catalan team suffered a very painful defeat, bleeding at times, both in form and consequences. The Palau Blaugrana used whistles and some handkerchiefs to criticize the apathy of some players.

Days after announcing he will leave at the end of the season, Xavi Pascual was met with applause. "One of the dreams of my life was to be a Barça coach and I have fulfilled it twice. This is my home, my people and it will always be like this," he said. The Palau Blaugrana also honored Jan Vesely, who will retire at the end of this campaign.

Despite the return of Tomás Satoransky and Will Clyburn, Barça struggled against Valencia Basket, who closed the first period with a 14-point lead (14-28). The visitors dominated the rhythm and the rebound. The difference grew to 19 points by halftime (27-46), at which point whistles were heard at the Palau Blaugrana to criticize the apathy of some players.

Barça clung to Toko Shengelia's character to try and avoid falling behind in the game, but the blaugrana team reached the final ten minutes with a 22-point deficit (53-75). The Catalan team tried to improve the score during a final period in which the visiting team stopped pressing the accelerator. Not even then. Many fans left their seats early. "We made a fool of ourselves. We played very badly, there are no excuses," lamented Xavi Pascual.

The quarterfinals begin Tuesday

The play-offs for the title start on Tuesday, when Barça will have to play at UCAM Murcia's court. Asisa Joventut, for its part, will kick off the quarter-finals on Wednesday playing against Kosner Baskonia. Both Catalan teams will have the home-court advantage against them.