FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.05.2007 23:21

Faith makes it 2-1 for Winterthur (84-77)

Sònia de Alba

Concentration, intensity and, above all, faith in their own collective effort have tipped the ACB quarterfinals in favour of Winterthur Barça.

The Barça players kept their nerve. The third game promised to be crucial and it possibly was. Everyone knew the importance of winning but as coach Dusko Ivanovic stated: “For the moment it doesn’t mean anything”. The Montenegrin coach is satisfied with the way his team played and the way they handled themselves at critical moments. Winterthur Barça are now 2-1 ahead in the series and could clinch it on Sunday in Fontajau. To do that, they’ll need to show the same intensity and faith as tonight in the Palau.

Intensity and defence

Barça started shakily in defence and Akasvayu took an early 0-5: two free throws from Gregor Fucka and three points from Dalibor Bagaric. But before the first quarter had finished Winterthur had found their positions on court. Fran Vázquez dominated the rebound and produced an intimidating block in the second action of the game. Rodrigo de la Fuente gave Barça the lead for the first time (18-17) and Marconato stretched the gap to (20-17). Navarro ended the quarter with his team’s first three-pointer.

The second period was Barça’s showpiece as they opened up a gap of 13 points. However, Akasvayu fought back and Bagaric, Thornton, Marinovic and McDonald left the halftime scoreboard at 44-37.

Nerves dominated the whole of the second half. Akasvayu cut back Barça’s lead until Víctor Sada made it 54-55. The Barça players kept their nerve and a great combination between Juan Carlos Navarro and Fran Vázquez gave them a narrow lead at the end of the quarter (62-61).

The final quarter was just as tense as McDonald, Fucka and San Emeterio for Akasvayu, and Roger Grimau and Navarro for Barça, kept things neck and neck. But it was a collective move that gave Winterthur the vital boost. Michalis Kakiouzis took his chance on the counterattack after some great defending from Barça to make it 77-75. A block from Roger set up Barça for another break and another point. Fucka put the score at 78-77 but Navarro made a crucial intervention with three free throws (81-77). With just 1:07 on the clock, the win began to look possible. Juan Carlos clinched the game with a basket 25 seconds from the end and Lakovic took the lead to seven points at the final hooter (84-77).

Personal records

The Slovak didn’t score highly but featured strong in assists, equalling Roger Esteller record in the 98-99 season. Navarro scored 22 points – top scorer of the game – and was man-of-the-match. He made five steals, the same as Salva Díez in the 93-94 play-offs. The record is held by José Antonio Montero with six on 24th April 1994.

A great night

It was a great night in the Palau. Navarro, Kakiouzis and Fran Vázquez collected their awards for: points scored (and the first Spanish player to top the averages since 1973); best two-point average and most blocks respectively. Then the Winterthur Barça youth team paraded the Spanish Championship they achieved last week in Barakaldo. The 6,000 fans packed into the Palau – including Pau Gasol and footballer Juliano Belletti- enjoyed a classic play-off encounter.

TAU awaits

Winterthur Barça have the chance to clinch the series on Sunday, if not they will have to wait until next Tuesday. Meanwhile, TAU Ceramica are already in the semi-finals after beating Unicaja 88-63 but DKV Joventut lost to Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas in Badalona (63-74). This leaves Joventut, Real Madrid –who beat Pamesa on Thursday-and Barça leading 2-1 overall.