Xavi Pascual says enough again

BarcelonaAfter suffering one of the most worrying defeats of the season, Xavi Pascual sounded all the alarms in a press conference. "I am the main person responsible for today's humiliation," said the coach. Barça even trailed by 32 points against Panathinaikos, at which point some Barça fans expressed their displeasure at the Palau Blaugrana. "When the season ends, it will be time to explain many things to you and for us to talk about everything. From now until the end, I will try to remain as calm as possible and for us all to be on the same page: players, directors, press, public... And then, when we finish, there will be time to evaluate, to talk, to think, to see where we are, to see where we will be, and to see if we will be there," he stated. His contract ends in the summer of 2028.

Barça, who visit AS Mònaco's court on Friday, occupy eighth place in the Euroleague with a record of 20 wins and 16 losses. The Catalan team aims to finish among the top six to play the play-offs for the title and, if that's not possible, to secure one of the top ten spots to ensure a place in the repechage. "We only have 48 hours of rest and Jan Vesely is very hurt. Many things are happening, and we'll be playing against a super team. We need to try to have a better game in Mònaco this week, and if not, to close the regular season here at home against Bayern Munich as best we can," lamented Pascual, annoyed that no reinforcements have arrived to cover the absences.

Although Barça does not clarify the reasons for the indisposition it is suffering from, Tomás Satoransky continues to be out. The Czech point guard was one of the coach's key players. His absence, added to those of Nico Laprovittola and Juan Núñez, is structural. "Juani Marcos has to play as the primary point guard and Darío Brizuela also has to occupy this position, and then we lose a player who when he comes off the bench gives us a lot. We don't have Satoransky's leadership, which is very important. We have to adapt at a time in the season when we are playing for everything without the two main foundations. It's a mismatch at all levels. Physically, without Satoransky we also suffer because we are small. We have many problems when it comes to making tactical decisions, both in offense and defense," he said.

"What I need is for the team to go to the limit of its possibilities and, if you don't win, you don't win, but the game against Panathinaikos is very disappointing. There are many conditions together, but it is a defeat that as a coach of Barça and as a person who has done many things here... To have a game like this when so much is at stake at home... We have to adapt to a new situation. I perfectly understand the fan because it is the same as we feel. The only thing I can say is the same as I said the first day I arrived: that we would have a bad time. But the only thing I can say is that the public is always fine and we have not been, that is the reality," he summarized.

Moment of uncertainty

Once the presidential elections were held, Barça began a transitional period of institutional cohabitation. The basketball section, forced to reduce its salary mass to comply with football's fair play, is experiencing moments of uncertainty. Joan Carles Navarro and Mario Fernández are left without Josep Cubells as an interlocutor. Until the new board of directors led by Joan Laporta takes office, scheduled for July 1st, the responsibility for the section falls to Sisco Pujol, founder of a network of companies that has made him an entrepreneurial benchmark. "There's no need to dwell on it, we can't sign anyone and that's that," clarified Pascual.