FC Barcelona 98-72 Hiopos Lleida: The smiles return
Back to winning ways for the Barça basketball team with this great derby victory against Lleida (98-72) to put smiles back on faces. With outstanding numbers from behind the arc (17/24), and five players scoring over 10, that's now 19 wins and 12 defeats, and outright fifth place in the table with three games of the regular season to go.
Tremendous derby atmosphere in the Palau
It's been a tough few days for the blaugranes and the Catalan derby was another potential pitfall. Lleida are virtually safe after their return to the top division and brought around a 1000 fans to cheer them on, but Peñarroya's side showed their mettle to give hopes of finishing the regular season well in the league.
Three pointers decisive
Once the score reached 8-9, Barça began to punish from downtown, as the blaugrana big guns made a spectacular 7/8 triples in the first quarter. With eight different scorers, and Anderson proving particularly effective (8), the first quarter ended with a good advantage for the home side (31-18).
Villar brothers face off
After a tribute to retiring Catalan announcer Jordi Robirosa, Barça kept up the pressure and controlled the second quarter, with time on court for three juniors in Keita, Grujicic and Raúl Villar, who had a nice moment when he faced his brother Rafa, with both getting a triple.
No let up until the end
Willy Hernangómez was dominating within the paint, and spaces opened up for the three point percentage to remain high, reaching 10/12 in the first half, meaning the derby was well on the way to being won (53-35). However, Barça wanted more after the restart, with two consecutive 2+1 plays and triples helping extend the lead to over 30 (70-39).
Play-offs coming closer
Lleida could only try to stem the tide, but Barça kept punishing whenever they could, and it was 82-52 with 10 minutos to go. Job done for the home side, Lleida managed to reduce the difference a little, but when the buzzer went the final score was 98-72 and Barça had won. Thoughts can start to turn to the play-offs for the title, but another three gamedays against Baskonia, Girona and Bilbao are still to come.
GAME STATS
Barça: 98
Hiopos Lleida: 72
Barça: Satoransky (7), Punter (18), Parker (6), Anderson (14) y Fall (4) - starting five - Brizuela (8), Hernangómez (11), Abrines (15), Keita (0), Parra (10), Villar (5) y Grujicic (0).
Hiopos Lleida: Villar (7), Batemon (8), Paulí (10), Sanz (2) y Oriola (4) - starting five - Walden (9), Hamilton (0), Muric (11), Wiggins (7), Bropleh (4), Madsen (4) i Hasbrouck (6).
Quarters: 31-18, 53-35, 82-52, 98-72.
Referees: Jordi Aliaga, Javier Torres and Igor Esteve.