FC Barcelona – Anadolu Efes: Barça cruise in victory in the Top 16 (84-65)

There’s no better way to forget about a defeat – last Sunday’s away to Real Madrid – than to cruise to victory in the following match. The FC Barcelona basketball team started off the Top 16 phase of the competition in fantastic fashion as they defeated Anadolu Efes at the Palau Blaugrana.

The match started with Efes scoring the first basket, but Xavi Pascual’s men quickly hit back and took the lead. A three pointer fro Papanikolau gave Barça a double-digit lead over their rivals (18-9), andhe quarter came to an end with 25 to 16 on the scoreboard.

Spectacular second quarter

Barça were at their best in the second quarter. The team were very accurate with their shots and they were on point with the rebounds. Dorsey, especially, did a phenomenal job under the rim. The ten minutes leading up to the break were simply fantastic for Xavi Pascual’s men as they took a +30 point lead (48 to 18). Efes were practically out of the match, but in the last two minutes of the quarter they scored nine points (52-29).

The Blaugrana weren’t as fortunate after the break seeing that they failed to score in the opening four and a half minutes of the quarter. The Turkish side cut into Barça’s lead but it wasn’t enough to overturn the home team’s advantage. Navarro broke the dry spell with a three pointer, but Efes closed out the quarter outscoring Barça by 13 to 20.

In the final quarter Barça maintained their 15-point advantage over the Turkish team, and thus secured a victory in the opening match of the Top 16 of the Euroleague.