FCBARCELONA.CAT

11.11.2007 14:46

Spirited victory (67-56)

Sònia de Alba

AXA Barça have beaten Grupo Begar Leon in a game that was decided in the last three minutes. It was the azulgranas’ persistence that helped them to their fifth consecutive victory.

The bottom team of the ACB were no soft touch. Grupo Begar León arrived at the Palau with a lot to win and very little to lose. With their physical game the Castilians weren’t going to be overawed by Barça. Though Dusko Ivanovic’s men were always in control of their lead, they never managed to kill off the opposition. The powerful Grimau was a real leader though, lively in defence and, offensively, the most accurate in the team.

Barça give hope to León

The first quarter finished 16-15. The azulgranas had allowed Grupo Begar back into the game just a few seconds before the whistle. But it proved little because the second quarter had hardly begun and AXA FC Barcelona had pulled 11 points clear (26-15). This spell proved to be short-lived because Gustavo Aranzana’s side, just as they had done in the first quarter, reacted well enough to get back into the game and even managed to take the lead, though only for a few seconds. Barça arrived at half-time leading 33-32.

The burden of missed points and a lack of three-pointers

On a lot of occasions Barça’s lack of concentration only helped the Castilians in their fight back. The total number of misses by Ivanovic’s men was 18 (9+9). Some were inexcusable, like when Michel Morandis lost his balance and stepped on the sideline. León also wasted opportunities however (15 misses). More serious were the six points scored by AXA from the base line by Lakovic and Grimau (two baskets).

Despite all this, the azulgranas kept to their game plan. They were helped in that Rick Hughes (18 points) was the only attacking outlet for León. This is Arazana’s greatest problem – a lack of real attacking options. However, they were never completely out of the game.
Also, AXA Barça didn’t have much luck with their long range shooting. For three-quarters of the game the azulgranas had managed only one three-pointer.

Grimau: fighting spirit

The last quarter began in much the same way as the previous 30 minutes had been played. Roger Grimau was showing signs that things were going continue in the same vein. The captain (and top scorer for Barça with 17 points), growing in stature throughout the match, killed the game off with less than three minutes to go with a three-pointer and a slam-dunk (with an assist from Pepe Sánchez), leaving the score at 64-54.

Gustavo Aranzana was unable to turn things around during a time-out and the azulgranas eventally won 67-56.

Before finishing we must single out the presence of Denis Marconato. Though he didn’t score anything, he intimidated the opposition and held out to the end despite carrying four personal fouls. Kasun also finished the game with four fouls, despite having a more discreet game than last Thursday against Chorale Roanne.