Euroleague day 1
Barca
Anadolu Efes
Jan Vesely (right) and Oscar da Silva (c) try to block Derek Willis.Enric Fontcuberta (EFE)
Barcelona began their European journey with a great win against Anadolu Efes, who ran out of steam at the start of the last quarter. An intense and balanced game was expected until the end, but the performance of Hernangómez (18) and Laprovittola (13 points and 8 assists) as well as the solid defense ensured that Roger Grimau’s dubious start on the bench was calmed. Meanwhile, the Turkish team, two-time Euroleague champions in 2021 and 2022, is undergoing a reconstruction process similar to the Blaugrana, now without Ergin Ataman, the controversial coach who always lit up Palau, and without one of their best players, Vasilije Micic, on the way to the NBA. However, the ever-dangerous Larkin continues (16 points).
With a different squad than the one that lost to Madrid in the semifinals of the Final Four, without Jasikevicius as a coach or Mirotic as a star, the culé team’s goals are no longer the same. From being a clear contender for the title with three straight Final Fours to having their budget drastically cut due to the company’s economic situation. Sanli, Tobey, Kuric and Sergi Martínez also left. In return came Dario Brizuela, Jabari Parker, Joel Parra and Willy Hernangómez. Given their recent defeat against Madrid in the league, Barcelona had no choice but to react if they did not want to leave any doubts.
Barcelona started hesitantly in defense, conceded offensive rebounds and was very hasty in attack with four turnovers. With six assists in eight minutes, Larkin easily found his teammates in a fast-paced game. The pace in the first quarter was hectic and there was no respite for the players to settle on the pitch. The Culés, led by Laprovittola, recognized the quick game of the Turks, prevented them from taking the lead on the scoreboard and even ended the first quarter with a three-point lead (22-19).
The second quarter began with the European premieres of Brizuela, Parker, Parra and Willy Hernangómez. They all stood out because Willy made his debut with a basket, an extra shot and a block. Parker also blocked and Brizuela scored layups and three-pointers. Grimau’s second appearance gave Barca a nine-point lead. Erdem Cam called for a time out, which gave the Turks a breather. They liked it because in no time and with a few flashes from Larkin they reduced the deficit to two points. The Ottomans became alert in attack but were still weak in defense and the Culés took advantage of this and were 40-34 at halftime.
The first half made it clear that the game would be decided by the defense and Efes had to improve it if they wanted to win. The Turks were aware of this and increased the intensity, evened the score (44:44) and found Tyrique Jones in the air with six points at the beginning of the third quarter. He wouldn’t be the only one to have success, as Hernangómez looked to silence the criticism with 16 points (six of six on field goals). Laprovittola accompanied him in the attack and the Catalans showed their best version against a calmer Palau, which did not take long to come.
The duel went into the final quarter with the Blaugrana five ahead. Grimau asked for calm, but Brizuela did his thing and gave a luxury assist to Parker, who scored his first Euroleague score, and the lead reached nine points as Efes was stuck in the attack. Brizuela’s showtime continued with another blind assist for Parker, who was getting stronger in the zone (10 points), and Barça’s lead reached 13 points with six minutes left. Efes threw in the towel, without Larkin, and Roger Grimau’s team took its first win in its Euroleague debut thanks to a great defense and an effective attack.
Barcelona, 91 – Efes, 74
FC Barcelona: Da Silva (4), Kalinic (4), Laprovittola (13), Satoransky (8), Vesely (16) – starting five – Abrines (7), Brizuela (7), Hernangómez (18), Jokubaitis (4), Nnaki, Parker (10) and Parra (0).
Anadolu Efes: Larkin (16), Thompson (2), Willis (8), Yilmaz (3), Zizic (9) – starting five – Beaubois (4), Bryant (10), Clyburn (7), Hollatz (0), Jones (10 ), Osmani (0) and Pleiss (5).
Partials: 22-19; 18-15; 29-30 and 22-10
Referee: Sreten Radovic (Croatia), Mehdi Difallah (France), Milivoje Jovcic (Serbia)
Palau Blaugrana. 5,577 spectators
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.