Palau, in ACB, is a fortress. In the regular League, the team of Jasikevicius they finished first thanks to 17 wins in 17 home games. Last night, however, the first play-off match was a double trap for Barça. Because of a short series, the best of three games, the first one at home has to win no matter what. Second, because Valencia is a team with a lot of talent, with a lot of bad feelings between the coach and the players, and defeats to the rival are always a double-edged sword. You can jump on the field thinking that, with so many absences from the opponent, it will be a piece of cake and, moreover, one day the Valencian’s talent will emerge in the form of scoring. Barça, in Palau, were not surprised. He didn’t make an exhibition but he did what he had to do: win (84-74).
And he did it thanks to a mirotic very good in the first half -he left with 19 points at halftime-, thanks to the third quarter where the team worked like that in attack and defense, and thanks to the duo formed in between Satoransky and Kuric that put the team on their backs before the team’s final arreones of Alex Mumbrú. Counter-attack baskets from the Czech point guard and the American shooting guard prevented any panic. The meeting ended, Jasikevicius can only praise Nicola Mirotic: “He has solved the matter.” Certainly, when the team does not attack the area well, mirotic he fixed it with triples. Last night he scored 7, for a total of 27 points in 25 minutes. He owes us from the final four in Kaunas. Only a supercrack rises so quickly after such a failure.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
