Barça is going through one of the most challenging moments of the season, both sportingly and institutionally. Despite it being the first week of 2025, many things have happened, and the team, in full competition, is not immune to all of it.
HEURTEL CASE
The club cut Raúl Neto last Thursday, January 2, and had Heurtel's transfer ready to replace the Brazilian. The possible return of the Frenchman caused a more than understandable backlash from the fans due to his poor exit from the club. It's also worth remembering that, after everything that happened with Barça, Heurtel went to Real Madrid.
On January 2, various media outlets (Mundo Deportivo being the first) reported that Barça had signed Thomas Heurtel. At that moment, a huge uproar was caused on social media due to the controversy surrounding that possibility. Heurtel is considered, by a certain sector of the fans, as a public enemy.
After seeing the rejection shown by a large part of the blaugrana fans, the management informed the player that the transfer wouldn't happen. That communication was with David Carro, the agent, as the player was unreachable, flying from China to Barcelona. After landing, the agent himself informed Heurtel of the situation, and they decided to call a press conference in the afternoon.
In this, David Carro was very critical, especially of Josep Cubells, the section head. Heurtel said he felt the club had laughed at him. Regardless of sporting debates, Barça's image is severely damaged by situations like this.
VICTORY IN PARIS
Despite all the uproar from the Heurtel case, Barça was able to win authoritatively on a very challenging court. It's true that Paris Basketball has considerably dropped the level that had them leading, but Barça played a very serious game. The culers dominated the match from start to finish, practically always ahead on the scoreboard.
Peñarroya couldn't count on Jan Vesely this week due to knee discomfort. This gave Willy Hernangómez the opportunity to step up in Paris, and he did. The Madrid center was Barça's best with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the blaugrana victory (79-90).
KEY DERBY FOR THE CUP
Barça hosted Joventut at the Palau yesterday, Sunday, with the obligation to win if they didn't want to see their presence in the Cup endangered. Well, the Penya showed a very serious version throughout the match, perfectly justifying their fourth position in the ACB table.
TRAILING IN THE FIRST HALF
Peñarroya opted for Satoransky, Punter, Parra, Parker, and Fall as the starting five. Precisely the giant blaugrana scored the first basket, but from there came a 0-10 run for the visitors. Barça tried to react with 5 consecutive points, but Joventut managed to increase their lead to +12 (7-19).
After the first ten minutes of play, the score was 11 to 21 for Joventut. In the second quarter, Barça managed to close the gap, but the pace of the game remained in favor of the visitors. Metu scored 14 points in the first half and unlocked the blaugrana team in attack.
After his good performance, and also Pustovyi's (10 points at halftime), they reached the break with a 36-40 on the scoreboard. Barça was struggling to find good situations in attack, especially in static play.
At the start of the second half, the trend continued in favor of Joventut. A want and can't from Barça, who tried more from desire than conviction. Even so, in terms of the scoreboard, the locals never lost sight of the game (48-53, end of the third quarter).
DECISIVE PUNTER
After a somewhat timid start in the last quarter, Kevin Punter emerged. Three consecutive three-pointers from the American put Barça ahead (72-70) for the first time in the second half. Hanga replied with a basket, leaving the game tied with 2 minutes remaining.
Punter himself had the last shot to win the game, but the ball hit the rim, and the game went to overtime (76-76). Barça had 2 free throws with 90-89 and only a few seconds left, but Satoransky missed them. Joventut had the last possession, and Robertson scored 2 free throws that gave the visitors the victory.
Punter had one last very forced shot to win, but the ball didn't go in. This defeat leaves Barça with a 7-7 record in ACB and seriously jeopardizes their cup options. Peñarroya's team visits Girona, visits Gran Canaria, and hosts Bilbao Basket before the end of the first round.