The best way start a playoff series is by winning in convincing fashion, showing your opponent that you can dominate all facets of the game. From the first second of the match Barça Regal, knowing full well that the first match of the best-of-three series was of utmost importance, hounded Uxue Bilbao Basket up and down the court. The Blaugrana claimed a comfortable 88 to 62 victory thanks to great performance from the whole team, but especially from Tomic and ‘Mavro’.
Scoring galore
Barça Regal’s game plan focused on attacking. They needed to be effective and find open shots quickly. The tit-for-tat scoring (8-6) stopped when Xavi Rabaseda took charge of the team. The Blaugrana opened up a nine-point lead (19-10) by the middle of the opening quarter, and extended that lead to 27-15 by the end of the first 10 minutes.
‘Mavro’ steps up
The second quarter saw Loukas Mavrokefalidis shock the Palau Blaugrana with a neat perfect performance. Despite not having too many training sessions with his new teammates under his belt, the Greek player fired for 11 of Barça’s first 16 points in the quarter. With his contribution, and Lorbek’s, Barça went to the break with a 14-point lead (49-35).
Broken match
At the start of the second half, Barça jumped to their biggest lead of the night, 23 points (68-45). Wallace, Tomic and Huertas made Uxue Bilbao Basket’s attempts to fight back completely futile. The Blaugrana held their lead and went to the last quarter with 68 to 46 on the scoreboard.
Relaxed final 10 minutes
Bilbao Basket when on a 6 to 13 run to start out the last quarter of the game. The Basques were tougher and more aggressive than they were in the previous three quarters. Xavi Pascual’s men struggled to contain their opponents, but they never allowed them to get within 15 points of the lead. The final score of 88 to 62 reflects just how dominant Barça were in their first match of the quarter-final of the Liga Endesa.
