FCBARCELONA.CAT

19.05.2009 22:17

Fast forward to the semis (55-81)

Sònia de Alba

Regal Barça have beaten Pamesa Valencia by 26 points to reach the semi-finals of the ACB league. At one stage Barça opened up a 37 point gap in a game they dominated from the beginning.

The senior basketball squad have progressed to the semi-finals with a 2-0 defeat of Pamesa. Barça controlled the game at all times much to the dissatisfaction of the local fans.

Ersan Ilyasova was able to play for a few minutes wearing a protective face mask. The Turkish star received an accidental blow to the nose during training last Saturday.

Three-pointers lead the way

Regal Barça began strongly and proved highly effective shooting from distance. However, Pamesa actually managed to take a tenuous lead thanks to their control of the offensive rebound.

Pamesa took an early 7-4 lead but it was downhill for the Valencia based outfit from then on. Three-pointers from Jaka Lakovic, David Andersen Lubos Barton and Víctor Sada made sure that Barça enjoyed a healthy 14-27 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Barça defence on top

Meanwhile, David Andersen was winning the battle under the basket against Perovic and Miralles, who gradually disappeared from the game

The rest of the Pamesa squad also failed to make an impact, with special mention for Víctor Sada’s smothering of Shammond Williams.

Meanwhile, Barça continued to pull ahead with three-pointers (11 before the break) while Pamesa managed just 10 points in the second quarter.

The passivity and lack of reaction of the Pamesa players angered the local fans, who expressed their discontent throughout the second quarter while applauding Barça’s efforts. The scoreboard at the break: 24-53 (+29 points).

Maximum lead

The dynamic of the game stayed the same after the break. Shammond Williams gave the locals a good start but a three-pointer from Navarro prevented any possibility of a recovery (26-56).

In fact Regal Barça increased their lead during the third quarter to a maximum 37-74.

In view of Barça’s absolute control the local fans started to desert the pavilion.

A chance for everyone

Barça’s statistics show very clearly how far they dominated this game. In total, Barça scored 14 three-pointers – a record for a visiting team (15 in any game, 18 for the whole ACB) – and chalked up 19 assists.

The last quarter finished with a 15-7 partial score in Pamesa’s favour as Pascual shuffled his players around and with the game won the players understandably relaxed.