Barça lost out to Real Madrid by 92-101 in the ninth round of the EuroLeague, a result that proved frustrating for Barça fans, as the team trailed from the start and, despite their efforts, were never able to fully get back into the game.

From Abrines’ tribute to a painful first quarter

All the beauty of the moments leading up to tip-off—marked by an emotional tribute to Álex Abrines following his retirement last summer—quickly turned into disappointment for the Barça faithful. The only positive note in the first quarter was the return of Laprovittola after his recovery from injury. But from Campazzo’s opening three-pointer, which banked in off the glass, to his buzzer-beating shot from beyond half court to end the quarter, it was ten minutes of suffering for Barça.

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Although Barça’s offensive numbers were not bad, their defense couldn’t find a way to stop Hezonja, Campazzo, and Lyles, and the score at the end of the first quarter left little room for optimism at 243434. A 0-5 run by Madrid to start the second quarter saw Madrid surge further ahead and Peñarroya’s men turned to Jan Vesely, who seemed to be the most reliable path to the basket.

Vesely, the leader on offense 

With the Czech player scoring both in the paint and from beyond the arc, Punter and Clyburn also got involved—Punter with a three-pointer and Clyburn with a dunk that forced Scariolo to call a timeout. But once again, Madrid responded with four straight points to restore a 15-point lead, leaving Barça with the same uphill battle (37-52).

Vesely struck again with a basket over Tavares, and Punter added a three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight points (48-56). After a strong defensive effort, Barça couldn’t capitalize with a score, while Madrid did, dampening the comeback attempt just before halftime (48-58). The second half became a constant struggle for Barça to get back into the game.

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Defeated

After several more minutes of Barça’s imprecise play, Real Madrid closed the third quarter by restoring their largest lead of sixteen points at 81-65 and began the final period by extending it to eighteen. However, from beyond the arc, Brizuela and Punter (with a 3-point play) managed to spark a glimmer of hope. When Clyburn brought Barça within nine points at 92-83,  a controversial unsportsmanlike foul—heavily protested by the Palau crowd and coach Peñarroya—ultimately sealed the fate of the Clásico.

In the end, a 101-92  defeat leaves Barça with the chance to bounce back with a win on Sunday in Girona, ahead of a busy week with two EuroLeague fixtures: away against Bayern on 12 November, and at home against Virtus on 14 November. 

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    MATCH STATS

    Barça: 92
    Real Madrid: 101

    Barça: Satoransky (7), Punter (18), Clyburn (19), Shengelia (13) y Vesely (15) - starting five- Cale (2), Norris (-), Brizuela (3), Hernangómez (3), Fall (0), Laprovittola (10) and Parra (2).

    Real Madrid: Campazzo (15), Abalde (2), Deck (4), Lyles (29) y Tavares (7) - starting five - Okeke (3), Hezonja (15), Maledon (12), Garuba (5), Llull (0), Feliz (9) and Len (0).

     

    Força Barça