Third consecutive European slap to Barça

BarcelonaTwo years in a row stumbling on the same stone. Barça lost on Monaco's court and will not play in the EuroLeague title play-offs (79-70). Europe has expelled the blaugrana team before the end of April. It will be the fourth time in history that the Catalan team is not among the eight best teams in the competition. Furthermore, it's three consecutive years without sniffing a final four.

The Salle Gaston Médecin was a nightmare for Barça, who couldn't make up for it with the good game of Toko Shengelia and Jan Vezely. "Our first half was not good and that made us go behind on the scoreboard," analyzed Xavi Pascual. The coach had to rethink his game plan due to the physical problems of Tomás Satoransky, who could only play 10:30 minutes due to his back. It is the first time that the coach from Gavà will not play in the quarterfinals, as the one from Gavà had not failed with Barça (8), Panathinaikos (2) or Unics Kazan (1).

"Although in the second half the team's face has been different, we have always lacked something. When Satoransky got injured, we lost our way. We tried, but it wasn't enough. Many things have happened to us during the season, we have been playing catch-up and we have had to reinvent ourselves many times. We have to recover and move forward," summarized Pascual. "The situation is not pleasant. It's a shame because our goal was the play-off and we have fallen short. Satoransky's absence has been important and has affected us," said Darío Brizuela.

Having lost the two previous encounters this season, Barça tried to propose a different game. Pascual introduced very interesting tactical nuances to try to tangle Manuchar Markoishvili and change some of the synergies from previous encounters. Despite having only nine players and suffering from serious financial problems, Monaco had a positive surprise: the return of a Terry Tarpey who reappeared with a lot of energy.

One of Pascual's concerns was that Barça would start the game on the right foot, which did not happen. Despite Will Clyburn's initial points, the script was not as imagined. The Barça defense allowed the home team to score 26 points in a first quarter that once again highlighted the Catalan team's shortcomings (26-14).

Barça tried to take refuge in a zonal defense to try to turn around the scoring dynamic of a Monaco that showed great shooting reliability, but the difference continued to grow until it reached 17 points (47-30). Daniel Thais dominated the game near the basket and turnovers were a headache. Showing more courage than discipline, the Barça team improved their performance to reach halftime alive (49-35).

Monaco stepped on the gas again (53-35). The visiting reaction came thanks to a defensive improvement and the connection between Toko Shengelia and Jan Vesely, two players who understand basketball very well. The run was 3-14 (56-49). The sensations inverted and the Monegasque team had problems scoring (58-53).

The referee's criteria drove Barça crazy at the start of the fourth period, when Monaco revived their score. The difference was eleven points with five minutes left (72-61). Juani Marcos had good minutes and the Blaugrana team did not give up, but they were not able to be consistent to complete the comeback. The squad once again seemed short and poorly put together. "I don't want to talk about the referees, but I'm already used to it," lamented Shengelia.

Quarters without Catalans

The EuroLeague quarterfinals will kick off next week. Olympiacos, the regular season leader, will play the first two games at home (Tuesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 30). The third and, if necessary, the fourth game will be played on Monaco's court (Tuesday, May 5 and 7). The fifth match, which would again be in Greece, does not yet have an exact date assigned (May 12 or 13).