Barça bowed out to Monaco, 85–84, in an extremely tight ribber game in the best-of-five playoff series, in which they still had a chance to win on the final play. They had rallied in the third quarter after a rather poor defensive first half and kept their hopes alive to the end. But Punter’s last-second shot rimmed out, and the Final Four dream was gone.

Gradual improvement

Barça took the initiative early. Accurate shooting and strong rebounding put them in front during the opening minutes. Anderson drove the offence, scoring eight points in the first quarter alone. Things soon got harder: a 6-0 Monaco run levelled the score at 13-13 midway through the period. Peñarroya sent on Willy and Brizuela to give the side fresh energy, helping them close the quarter 15-19 ahead.

The second quarter was a different story. Everything that had been working vanished. Barça’s offence was almost wiped out. Only Punter stood out, reaching 13 points early in the period and stretching the lead to its largest margin (18-24). From that point Barça shrank and switched off at the back; Monaco came roaring back and flipped the game’s momentum. James and Diallo led the hosts, who racked up 30 second-quarter points to take a 45-39 half-time lead.

Back in business

Monaco kept punishing Barça after the break, opening a double-digit gap by the 22nd minute. But then came the blaugrana reaction. A sparkling spell from Willy spearheaded the comeback, and Barça tied it at 54-54 halfway through the quarter. From then on things turned frenetic: Monaco always held the edge, but never broke free. Barça stayed within one shot and were down just three going into the final period (65-62).

Dream fades

The ten remaining minutes were always played to the tightest of margins, but they tipped Monaco’s way. Both teams mixed bright spells with errors, but the home side’s accuracy proved decisive, especially on the final two possessions. Monaco edged ahead 85-84; Barça had six seconds to conjure up something, but couldn't capitalise. Punter’s desperate attempt in the final seconds stayed out, and Barça’s European season ends here.

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    MATCH STATS

    MÒNACO, 85
    BARÇA, 84

    Mònaco: Blossomgame (9), Theis (4), Diallo (11), Strazel (11), James (20), Okobo (7), Loyd (2), Papagiannis (17), Jaiteh (4), Tarpei (0).

    Barça: Punter (19), Anderson (16), Satoransky (8), Fall (10), Parker (7), Brizuela (6), Hernangomez (16), Abrines (2), Parra (0).

    Periods: 15-19, 30-20 // 20-23, 20-22

    Árbitros: Ilija Belosevic, Milan Nedovic i Gytis Vilius

    Força Barça