Bilbao Basket v FC Barcelona: Beaten in final period (73-67)

FC Barcelona lost 73-67 in an action packed encounter in Bilbao, and the defeat means confirmation of their place in the Spanish Cup will have to wait. Justin Doellman was the man of the moment early on. There were 11 first period points for the man from Cincinnati. Thomas and Huertas were the only other Barça players to score as it finished 20-23 after ten minutes.

The second period saw the visitors stretch their lead to 31-38. So far so good, with Tomic and Nachbar now delivering the goods. But a 6-0 streak from the Basques had them back in contention by half-time (37-38).

Tense stuff

The third period had both teams well-matched on 41-41, 43-43 and then 45-45 before FC Barcelona stormed off on a 9-0 run that looked to have tipped the game in their favour. But Quino Colom was especially impressive as the hosts produced an immediate reaction, with his buzzer-beating three meaning everything was still to play for in the final quarter (53-54).

Colom clinches win

The same player led the way for Bilbao Basket to the end. The Barça defence was stretched to the limits to contain him, and a slam-dunk from Dejan Todorovic proved to be the fatal blow. The pavilion erupted, and try as Barça did to salvage a win, they ended up surrendering to a painful defeat.