Laprovittola knocks down the leader and gives wings to Barça
Fenerbahçe was about to take the game to extra time but Motley made a mistake by shooting the last basket from two
MADRID, 4 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Barça added its fourth victory in the Regular Phase of the Euroleague 2022-2023 by winning this Thursday at the Palau Blaugrana by 81-80 against the Turkish Fenerbahçe and gave a blow of authority knocking down the leader of the highest European competition, in a very physical that the locals took in a heart attack ending.
Johnathan Motley (24 points), with seconds to go, was not able to take the game to extra time because with the ball in his possession he made a mistake by shooting two and not from the three-point line, scoring 81 -80 end. The Turks point guard came close to eclipsing a stellar Nicolás Laprovittola (26 points).
Barça, who needed to win to confirm the good direction taken against Armani Milan (74-56), consolidated their good run and ended the undefeated team from Istanbul. With a 4-2 balance sheet, this victory catapults the Catalans up the table to fourth position and leaves behind doubts about an uneven start, with defeats to Olympiacos and Zalgiris.
Laprovittola was the most outstanding player in a match that came to dominate with his game. Dimitrios Itoudis’s men were unable to stop the Argentine, who seemed to vindicate himself in a special match for him. In the shadow of Nick Calathes last year in the Blaugrana team, the shooting guard, this time with the Greek in the rival team after his departure last summer, rose above the rest and completed one of his best European nights .
Even so, the game began very evenly thanks to the defensive solidity of both teams that took time to wake up from the initial score. Motley’s inside success (10 points) was not enough to stop a Laprovittola who decided the first quarter for his own with his success from the three line (20-19).
Two offensive fouls by Sarunas Jasikevicius’ men at the start of the second gave the visitors wings to reduce the lead and once again equalize a physical game with a slower pace. However, Laprovittola, once again, took his wrist for a walk to set the highest of the match so far (37-32) and repeat the feat from the three-point line with two more three-pointers in a row.
The equality before the break (39-36) soon began to favor the Blaugrana after the restart. The home team’s return to the locker room was effective and Jasikevicius’s men confirmed the Argentine shooting guard as the star of the match. Laprovittola emerged as the great leader of a team that managed at will and culminated with a great scoring effectiveness.
The locals, launched on the scoreboard, put land in the middle in a third quarter dominated from defense and who knew how to read perfectly with a great inside game. Fenerbache, stuck in their game, could not avoid reaching the last set with a great disadvantage on the scoreboard (62-49).
There was still a lot of battle left on the court and the visitors threatened to get close after a good start to the fourth quarter. Those from Istanbul, more compact in defense, tightened the match, reducing the difference to the maximum. However, a three-pointer by Kalinic with 36 seconds to go before the horn sounded gave his team a break before a heart-stopping finish. Motley (24), had the game in his hands with one last shot, which if it had been three, would have taken the duel to extra time.
–RESULTADO: BARÇA, 81 – FENERBAHÇE, 80. (39-36, al descanso).
BARÇA: Satoransky (2), Laprovittola (26), Kalinic (14), Tobey (13) and Sanli (6) –starting quintet–; Da Silva (-), Paulí (-), Vesely (4), Abrines (1), Higgins (3), Jokubaitis (8) and Nnaji (4).
FENERBAHÇE: Calathes (8), Wilbekin (6), Pierre (-), Hayes-Davis (3) y Motley (23) — quinteto inicial–; Birsen (2), Hazer (6), Edwards (2), Mahmutoglu (11), Jekiri (4), Guduric (11) y Booker (4).
–PARTIALS: 21-19, 18-14, 23-13 and 19-31.
–REFEREES: Boltauzer, Hordov and Nikolic.
–PAVILLION: Palau Blaugrana.
