FCBARCELONA.CAT

14.12.2008 14:42

Solid road win in Menorca (61-75)

Sònia de Alba

Regal Barça have won away to ViveMenorca by 14 points having controlled the game from start to finish.

With the home side backed by a capacity crowd, Barça’s basketball squad have won at one of the hardest places to visit in the ACB, where they themselves have often struggled, as they did last year. But this time they cruised to a relatively routine victory, their ninth of the season.

Fran Vázquez, who posted a perfect 100% in free throws, plus 8 steals (28 evaluation); Juan Carlos Navarro (20 points), and 9 rebounds from Víctor Sada were the main men in the Barça win.

Menorca strong at home

Ersan Ilyasova opened the scoring but ViveMenorca started the strongest, with two three pointers from Mario Stojic and Marino Bazdaric getting things off for the side coached by Ricard Casas.

Barça struggled to get into the pace of things, while the islanders were scoring baskets with ease, with the score soon reaching a disturbing 8-2. That was when Barça started picking up. Sada had started the game due to the last-minute withdrawal of Jaka Lakovic, who had failed to recover in time from the injury picked up midweek against Panathinaikos, and it was he along with Barton and Navarro that started amassing Barça’s first flurry of scoring.

But Menorca responded healthily and the stayed six ahead to make it 15-9.

Barça go for it

It was then that Regal Barça started collecting points, with David Andersen and Víctor Sada making it 15-14 by the end of the first period.

Xavi Pascual started rotating his bench to up the intensity, with André Barrett and Jordi Trias, who had done relatively little in Athens, contributing big time to the Barcelona response.

Two counter attacks led by the American gave Barça considerable leads (17-27 and 17-29) five minutes before the break.

Mario Stojic, the Menorcans’ franchise player, ended the second half by giving the Barça defenders plenty to think about. It was the wide man who was keeping ViveMenorca in it, but he alone was not enough to stop Barça from having a 26-42 to defend after the first two periods.

No cause for concern

But whatever pressure Menorca get into, they never let their heads drop. It’s to be admired and Boisa and Eley created two particularly impressive plays that suggested the home side still had something to say.

Ilyasova made it 33-44, and Regal Barça knew that as long as they could that amount of space alive, they were home and dry. Menorca threw all they had at Barça, and the visitors just had to keep things under control. They did so with admirable professionalism and a Basile three to make it 38-59 gave them a commanding 21 point lead, their biggest so far. The third period ended with things at 43-59.

Yet ViveMenorca still refused to lie down and surrender. Stojic, who finished with the same 20 points as Navarro, once again took things upon himself, and four Barça losses of balls to none for Menorca may have proven more fatal had there not been such a huge lead to defend, and thus plenty of margin for error for Barcelona.

Fran Vázquez and Navarro in particular kept the scoring going for Barça as the clock ticked away, and in the end things ended 61-75.