Barça chalked up an opening day win against Valencia after staging a great comeback in the second half. 22-36 down at the break, Barça clawed their way back into the game thanks to some excellent triples from Papanikolaou and Navarro to go into a heart stopping final quarter and take the win by a single point (76-75).
Close start
Lampe got Barça’s first points, but Valencia’s Lishchuk was ruling the roost aafter a tight first ten minutes, a three pointer from Hezonja gave Barça a narrow lead after ten minutes (18-15).
Sato-Dubljevic
Valencia came out fighting for the second quarter though and with Sato and Dubljevic proving lethal for the visitors. Doellman was also scoring freely and Valencia raced to a 24-41 lead on 39 minutes. Nachbar led the fight back for Barça and by the break reduced the difference to (34-45).
Three pointers bring Barça back
Papanikolaou stepped up in the third quarter and after two three pointers and another from Abrines, Barça were just two points adrift (45-47). Dorsey then chipped in and the hosts now took the lead (50-47). With Abrines off injured, Navarro came on and joined Papanikolau in helping Barça take a (61-55) lead.
Heart stopping final quarter
A Navarro three pointer did indeed appear to have sealed the win (68-61), but Barça seemed to lose focus and Valencia cut their lead to a single point and with Papanikolaou and Doellman interchanging points, it took a miss from the American to ensure Barça came away with a win from their first league game of the new season.
