FC Barcelona 69–65 Lenovo Tenerife: Tight encounter, narrow win

Barça have completed a week in which the Euroleague playoffs with Bayern Munich were the big issue but there was also a domestic fixture to play against a Lenovo Tenerife and especially Shermadini (27 pts) who proved very hard to beat indeed. It was defence-dominated encounter in which Brandon Davis stood out especially for the home side.

The Palau Blaugrana was treated to a fine display from two of the form sides in the Liga Endesa. The Catalans were excelling in particular with their 3-pointers but the Canary Islanders impressed on the paint and neither side had enjoyed any meaningful kind of lead at the midway stage.

Laprovittola and Dante Exum came into their own in the third period, but all the same Barça just could not shake the opposition and there were still only two points in it going into the final period.

Some lightning quick circulations produced perhaps the best of Barça’s day in the closing period, and as subtle score from Kuric, part of seven almost consecutive points, finally put some kind of distance between the teams and Barça went on to clinch a victory in what had been an extraordinary tight contest from start to finish.

MATCH STATS

Barça: Calathes (5), Laprovittola (10), Hayes-Davies (5), Mirotic (7), Sanli (2), Brandon Davies (13), Exum (6), Sergi Martínez (-), Smits (-), Abrines (3), Kuric (10), Jokubaitis (8).

Lenovo Tenerife: Fitipaldo (10), Salin (6), Todorovic (5), Sulejmanovic (2), Guerra (2), Borg (-), Huertas (6), Rodríguez (4), Sastre (-), Shermadini (27), Wilitjer (3), Doornekamp (-).

Periods: 12-11 / 14-16 // 21-18 / 22-20.

Referees: Carlos Cortés, Sergio Manuel & Cristóbal Sánchez.