FCBARCELONA.CAT

28.02.2007 13:39

Navarro the three point king

We all know that Juan Carlos Navarro is on amazing form, but since game 29 of last season he has scored at least one 3-pointer in every ACB game he has played in.

Navarro had a wonderful 2005-06 season. He was the MVP of the ACB season, world champion in Japan and part of the Euroleague Ideal X, in which his team made it to the Final Four in Prague. He is the natural leader of Winterthur Barça both on and off the court, and is respected by team-mates and opponents alike for his versatility and amazing knack of scoring from beyond the three-point line.

34 threes in 35 games

‘La Bomba' Navarro has scored 34 three pointers since game 29 of the 2005-06 season. The guard has made this his trademark, scoring at least one three pointer every game since that date. His finest performance of all in this respect was a terrific showing against Pamesa Valencia on October 30, 2005, when he was the author of no fewer than seven 3-pointers.

Memories

Navarro says “I never stopped to think that I could get figures like that. Sincerely, it is a pleasure to be one of the best three-point scorers in the ACB.” He is on a par with the likes of Oscar Smith and Velimir Perasovic who he says “were players that marked an era in the ACB. I remember Smith from when I was a kid. He could score triples from anywhere and at any time. I loved that player. As for Perasovic, I have played against him and he was hard to defend against. He made difficult throws, but made them look easy.”

Two legends hold the record

The record in this respect is held by a former Forum Valladolid player, Oscar Smith Becerra. The finest player ever to come out of Brazil played out his final years in the sport here in Europe. He registered a streak of 59 games with at least one three pointer between 1993-94 and 1994-95.

The second highest number of three pointers was achieved by the man who now coaches Tau, Velimir Perasovic, with 57. He played for four ACB clubs, Breogán de Lugo, TAU Vitoria, Fuenlabrada and Alicante. His three point scoring run started in 1999-00 and ended in 2000-01, when he was at Jabones Pardo Fuenlabrada.

Trias also on form

Another Barça basketball player snatching the headlines is Jordi Trias, who was named MVP for February. Juan Carlos Navarro described his team mates by saying “In a team you need players that contribute things and can help win in any situation. A team wins when it has good players for every position and any of them can score the decisive basket. Jordi is really having a sweet time and the team needs to take advantage of that”.