A clear and hard earned victory for Barça against Asvel Villeurbanne (84-71). Saras' team started off well and kept a comfortable lead throughout the game. Barça's key men in the Euroleague win in the Palau were Laprovittola and Mirotic, with 20 and 16 points respectively.
Great start for Barça
The game begin in the Palau with concentration levels high and an effective attack. Mirotic opened the scoring with a three-pointer, with the home side maintaining their defensive and offensive efforts (10-2, min. 4). They maintained this advantage as the minutes ticked on, with a solid defence that only conceded 17 in the first quarter, while the attack racked up 28 points. The second quarter saw much of the same, with Barça taking a 15 point lead into the break.
Same again second half
Barça remained accurate in attack after the break, opening up a 23 point lead at one point (68-45, min 30). The visitors managed to claw back some points difference in the final period, but Barça remained in control until the buzzer, with the final score 84-71.
Game stats:
Barça, 84
Asvel Villeurbanne, 71
Barça: Laprovittola (20), Calathes (4), Kuric (5), Mirotic (16) and Nnaji (-) – five starters-, Exum (9), Smits (2), Hayes-Davis (4), Higgins (5), Jokubaitis (8), Martinez (-) and Davies (11).
Asvel Villeurbanne: Okobo (17), Jones (4), Kahudi (2), Antetokounmpo (9) and Gist (4) – five starters -, Lacombe (2), Knight (8), Fall (20), Osetkowski (5) and Strazel (-).
Quarters: 28-17 / 17-13 / 23-20 / 16-21
Referees: Matej Boltauzer, Carmelo Paternico and Gentian Cici.
