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ACB League: rising fortunes

The gradual improvement of the team in the ACB League went in parallel with the season in general. They played their best in the play-off, but failed to beat TAU Cerámica.

The first half of the season produced some great moments. The classic against Real Madrid and Palau proved a major boost for players and fans alike. Barça beat Madrid 84-65 for the second time in the season, having already beaten them in Europe.

Dusko Ivanovic’s side kept among the leaders in the ACB, although there were some nasty slips. They spent most of the time switching between third and fourth, but after the 17 games, and the halfway stage and Copa del Rey qualification, they were fifth, meaning they went into the tournament unseeded, missing out on positions in a three-way tie with DKV Joventut and TAU.

Second half improvement

After the cup, and now with Xavi Pascual in charge of the team, AXA Barça upped the pace, but also went on a 0-5 streak at one point. It started against Kalise Gran Canaria, the game when Mario Kasun’s heart problems were noted. Another major setback was home defeat to Cajasol, the first ACB defeat of the season for Barça at the Palau. The next three defeats were on the road, though two of those came when the side had already secured third place in the table.

Great play-offs

The team’s performances started improving, and that couldn’t have happened at a better time: the play offs. The new format of best-of-three quarter and semi finals meant there was no room to relax in such intense series.

The game with Iurbentia Bilbao was the turning point. The basketball team looked rock solid as they swept the series 2-0 (75-64 at the Palau and 83-92 at the BEC) against their bogey team this season.

Things then got even harder, in a local derby with DKV Joventut, second in the regular season and in stunning form. But Barça rose to the occasion, beating the Badalona based side at the Pavelló Olímpic (90-93) and making no mistake at the Palau Blaugrana. There was no arguing with the final score of 85-71. AXA Barça was simply the better side and the reward was a guaranteed place in next season’s Euroleague, for they had to do better than DKV Joventut at all costs, because TAU, Unicaja and Real Madrid had already secured their places (Tau and Malaga through contract, and Madrid through finishing top of the regular season table).

The final against TAU

But just when Barça seemed able to do no wrong, they failed. The good form did not want to repeat itself ion the final against TAU. Barça even had home court advantage in the best-of-five series, but their performances were a far cry from their others in the play-offs, especially at the Palau. The Basques swept the series 3-0: 64-75, 74-78 and 76-61.