The unexpected evolution of a 35-year-old player rescues Barça: the ARA Instant Replay
A Blaugrana team led by Jan Vesely avoids the third consecutive defeat in the Liga Endesa
BadalonaBarça overcame Unicaja and avoided the third consecutive defeat in the Endesa League (97-91). The Barcelona team wasted an 18-point lead, but knew how to react in time. Jan Vesely had a key impact in the decisive minutes. The 35-year-old Czech center scored 10 points with two three-pointers in the last quarter. "Every year I try to improve and now I am feeling comfortable with three-point shots," he said. "We held on for 15 minutes at a good level, but then we diluted and survived as best we could. The wear and tear from Friday was very great," acknowledged Xavi Pascual.
Bitter triumph in Badalona
Three days before playing the most anticipated European tie, Asisa Joventut defeated Dreamland Gran Canaria (92-84). La Penya complicated a game they had well under control. The bad news came from the infirmary. Simon Birgander will be out for a few weeks due to a problem in the fascia of his right foot and Ante Tomic relapsed with his physical problems. "The context has made the game especially complicated," acknowledged Dani Miret.
Moncho Fernández asks for three press conferences
Basketball Girona had Real Madrid within reach at Fontajau, where they couldn't complete the feat due to two errors in the final seconds (93-95). The Catalan team, which never gave up, recovered a 12-point deficit in the last five minutes. "When you lose by such a small margin, some mistakes come to mind, but I would need three press conferences to congratulate my players on the game," summarized Moncho Fernández.
Saturday full of bad news
Bax Manresa and Hiopos Lleida did not have a good Saturday. The Bagense team, which is studying new signings to cope with the multiple absences it is suffering from, lost on the court of Río Breogán (91-78). The Ilerdense team reacted too late and could not avoid defeat against Coviran Granada, bottom of the league (92-89). James Batemon missed the final three-pointer that would have sent the game into overtime.