FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.03.2007 22:40

Pride stays in the Palau (87-66)

There was only pride at stake but Winterthur Barca took revenge for the 20-point defeat in Athens in the second round of the Top 16 with a 21-point win over Panathinaikos on Wednesday evening in the Palau.

Nobody would have predicted such a comfortable win. Although Panathinaikos held back the big guns towards the end of the third period and the whole of the fourth, nobody can take away the merit of beating one of the clear favourites for the Final Four. Barca started badly but soon clicked into the kind of automatic play demanded by Dusko Ivanovic. The coach has gone on record to say that defending the way they have been recently, his players have a good chance of beating Unicaja in the quarterfinal.

0-7 to start

The game couldn’t have had a worse start. The minutes passed but Barca failed to score while Panathinaikos relied on their powerful inside game – featuring Tomasevic and former Pamesa star Dikoudis – to set up a worrying 0-7. However, Navarro’s enthusiasm soon tramsitted to the rest of the Barca players and the team gradually improved and fought their way back into contention (10-15, min. 7). USA star Batiste proved to be too much of a handful for Denis Marconato, who was soon replaced by Fran Vázquez. Vázquez had rather more success in defence but the visitors still finished the first quarter 6 points ahead (14-20).

The best quarter

Despite another worrying start – Batiste led his side to a 10 point lead (16-26) – Barca gradually narrowed the gap. Two three-pointers from Gianluca Basile pulled Winterthur FC Barcelona to within 3 points (28-31). Perhaps more importantly, the defence demanded by Ivanovic at the beginning of the season is now a reality and the well-rehearsed moves and rapid circulation of the ball are making Barca’s play almost unstoppable against any opponent. Ivanovic also used the bench well to establish a 10-0 partial score and send his team in at the break leading 41-35.

A stroll for Barca

After the break, the local fans were treated to a feast of spectacular basketball, just as they enjoyed in the game against Real Madrid. Some fantastic plays – in particular from Fran Vázquez – brought the fans to their feet, demonstarting once again how much the connection between fans and players has improved since the beginning of the season. In the third period, the Panathinaikos of five times European champion Zelko Obradovic went nearly 4 minutes without scoring, and Barca took full advantage to increase their lead. A fantastic three-pointer from Denis Marconato on the hooter sent the home side into the last quarter leading 62-46.

With the final result beyond doubt, both coaches gave some minutes on court to some of the fringe players in their squads. Former Barca player Vujanic, for the visitors, and Roger Grimau, for Winterthur Barça, both acquitted themselves well. The final score of 87-66 did much to take away the bad taste of the 21-point defeat in Athens but now it’s time to look ahead to Unicaja, the last hurdle before the Final Four.