Thursday brought a tough defeat at the Palau Blaugrana. Barça fell 73–88 to Zalgiris Kaunas on EuroLeague Matchday 6, being outplayed by a solid and accurate Lithuanian side that built a 20-point lead by the end of the third quarter and never looked back. Joel Parra led Barça with 17 points, while Maodo Lo topped the visitors with 20.

Slow start

Zalgiris opened with a 0–9 run that forced Peñarroya to call an early timeout. Barça briefly rallied to 7–11, but the visitors stayed hot, closing the first quarter 11–26, with Lo already on 11 points.

Signs of recovery

Kaunas stretched the gap to 20–38 by the 13th minute, but a four-point play by Parra sparked a comeback. With Lo in foul trouble, Barça responded through Parra and Shengelia to cut the deficit to 34–40, though Zalgiris pulled away again to lead 39–52 at halftime.

Zalgiris take control

After the break, the Lithuanians stepped up the pace with a 2–12 run, reaching +23 (41–64, min 25). Barça struggled with just 36% shooting, while Zalgiris stayed above 50%, a gap that proved decisive. The third quarter ended 54–75.

Late effort falls short

Barça fought to the end, the crowd never stopped cheering, and the hosts cut the deficit to 70–82 (min 38), but it wasn’t enough. Final score: 73–88.

Barça’s next game is at home to Río Breogán in the ACB League on Saturday (7pm CEST), before hosting Olimpia Milano in the EuroLeague on Tuesday 28 October (8.30pm CET).

MATCH STATS

Barça, 73
Zalgiris, 88

Barça: Punter (7), Satoransky (11), Clyburn (0), Shengelia (13), Keita (0), Juani Marcos (9), Cale (5), Norris (0), Vesely (9), Hernangómez (2) & Parra (17). 

Zalgiris: Williams-Goss (4), Francisco (14), Tubelis (8), Birutis (4), Butkevicius (2), Wright (10), Bradzeikis (4), Maodo Lo (20), Sleva (5), Rubstavicius (0), Sirvydis (14) & Ulanovas (3).

Periods: 14-26; 25-26 (39-52); 15-23 (54-75); 19-13 (73-88).

Referees: Sreten Radovic, Jakub Zamojski & Maxime Boubert.

Attendance: 4,125

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