Xavi Pascual dusts off his favorite manual

BarcelonaXavi Pascual had a dream return to the home bench at the Palau Blaugrana. Barça defeated Asvel Villeurbanne (88-78), the bottom-ranked team in the EuroLeague. The Catalan side overcame a five-point deficit with 14 minutes remaining thanks to a clear defensive improvement. The coach from Gavà dusted off his preferred playbook to organize the home team's offense. The progress isn't yet enough to guarantee a spot at Canaletes, but it ensures a good level of competition.

"Coming home has been incredible. We increased our defense at the start of the final quarter, which allowed us to control the game. Coming home has been amazing," analyzed Pascual, who was without Nico Laprovittola, who is suffering from an adductor muscle injury. The expected recovery time is approximately four weeks. His absence adds to that of Juan Núñez, who is out long-term with a right knee injury. "The season will be long and we need to keep finding our rhythm as a team," said Kevin Punter (24 points). Thanks in part to the excitement generated by Xavi Pascual's return, and in part to the 80% discounts Barça applied to the game, the Palau Blaugrana was packed with 5,418 spectators. Thomas Heurtel, the former Barça player who is suing the club for €1.6 million in damages, went largely unnoticed. The French point guard ceded the spotlight to his teammate Nando de Colo, who finished with 22 points and 9 assists.

Barça struggled to gain control in a high-scoring first half. Unable to find their rhythm from three-point range and with little skill in drawing fouls, the Blaugrana relied on offensive rebounds to score on second-chance opportunities. Toko Shengelia and Kevin Punter combined for 21 points in the first 20 minutes (45-44).

Jan Vesely's fourth personal foul impacted Barça's rotation. Led by Nando de Colo, Asvel Villeurbanne put Barça on the ropes in the third quarter, building a five-point lead (56-61). Juani Marcos provided quality minutes, spearheading Barça's comeback (75-67).

Barça broke the game open in the final stretch, where the home team's defense forced errors from a visiting side that quickly gave up. The home team's lead grew to 13 points with 3 minutes remaining. The score in the last ten minutes was 20-13.

FIBA Stoppage

Xavi Pascual will have a few days to work, as there are no Liga Endesa games this weekend due to the FIBA windows. Barça's next game will be on Friday, December 5th, at Red Star Belgrade's home court.