Barça's basketball team continues to hold on in their European journey. Joan Peñarroya's team achieved a hard-fought victory against Monaco to stay alive in the EuroLeague. The Palau was the sixth player and carried the blaugrana team on their shoulders.
Dominant Start
Barça started with a line-up consisting of Satoransky, Punter, Anderson, Parker, Fall. Vesely was absent because he still has back discomfort. The game began with tension and clashes between both sides, which heated the atmosphere from the start.
As a result, Willy entered in place of Fall after one minute of play. The Madrid native had just played his best game in a Barça jersey in the EuroLeague, with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and a performance index rating of 31.
Barça swept Monaco in the first 5 minutes of play, with a 15-3 start. The blaugrana team benefited from the accuracy of a great Jabari Parker. The American finished the first quarter with 11 points and 3 three-pointers.
The Monegasque blackout continued until the end of the quarter. The visiting team was left with only 14 points in the first quarter, which ended with a 9-point deficit (23-14).
Disconnection in the Second Quarter
Monaco had their best minutes in the second quarter. The visitors reacted and managed to level the match, even taking the lead. In Barça's most critical moment, Darío Brizuela emerged, scoring 3 three-pointers in the first half.
The Palau crowd ended the first half very angry with the refereeing. Monaco shot 21 free throws before halftime, compared to just 2 for Barça. At the end of the first two quarters, the scoreboard showed a 35-38 for the Monegasques.
After the break, the referees compensated for the difference in criteria regarding contacts. Despite this, Barça couldn't take advantage to pull ahead. The third quarter ended with a score of 58-58, leaving everything to be decided in the last ten minutes.
Darío Brizuela Moment
At the start of the final quarter, Brizuela continued to do his thing, leading the blaugrana offense. The game entered its last three minutes with a score of 73-70, after a fast-break layup by Mike James. Parker extended the lead to +5 after making two free throws.
Subsequently, Monaco scored again, and with less than half a minute remaining, they had to foul. Kevin Punter made the free throws, putting the score at 77-72 with 15 seconds left. James missed a three-pointer in the next play, and Joel Parra sealed the victory from the free-throw line to set the final score at 79-72.
With this victory, Barça managed to close their week very positively, with morale sky-high to face the fifth game. Meanwhile, Monaco leaves Barcelona in a sea of doubts and with all the pressure to win next Tuesday.
Peñarroya's team will have three full days to prepare for the match, as their ACB game against Leyma Coruña was postponed. It remains to be seen if the Catalan coach can recover Jan Vesely for the decisive battle. The victory would give the blaugrana team a ticket to the EuroLeague Final Four two years later.