Barça achieved a crucial victory over Olympiacos in Piraeus (80-82) to regain home field advantage in the Euroleague playoffs. However, the joy of the Barça side was in contrast to the harsh criticism of the Greek team, who considered that the referees had harmed them in the decisive game of the match.
At 80-80 in scoring and ball possession, Roger Grimau called a timeout to design a final play. Barça had three seconds to make the last attack and the throw-in went into the hands of Jabari Parker. The American, who was defended by Filip Petrusev from distance, jumped towards the Serbian center and was fouled as he attempted a triple. After reviewing the video to see if the action was within time, the referees called it (5 tenths on the clock) and Parker went to the line to score the first two free throws and intentionally missed the third.
“How can they whistle that in the last kick of the game? Their player is here and jumping forward (he acted himself) where our defender is. I don’t want to criticize the referees but that’s what decided the game,” the Olympiacos coach denounced Georgios Bartzokas, who was clearly angry with the referee’s triple decision.
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.
