Each victory is like medicine, a small step to finish healing the great wound left by the defeat in the final four of the Euroleague. Barça left behind the mental fatigue and doubts in their game that they had exhibited in recent games and started the semifinal of the Endesa League playoff against Joventut de Badalona with a win (89-72), which was diluted as the Blaugrana they found themselves.
The black-and-whites, who returned to the league semifinals 14 years later, came out very disciplined to the Palau Blaugrana parquet, but the Barcelona players did not give rise to surprise with a great success from outside, especially an inspired Sertac Sanli who finished the game without fail ( 16 points, 4/4 on triples and 2/2 on two shots). The reigning champions remembered their best version, the one that subdued their rivals with endless weapons in attack and suffocating defense.
Historical precedents smile at Barça, winner of four of the six semi-finals of the ACB against Badalona, although the Barcelona players had lost in the last away match against Penya. Both warned of their rival's weapons, the duel began with the tension that the Catalan derby par excellence deserves.
The first quarter was a battle on both sides of the track. Practically all the passes, almost all the approaches to the rim, were a fight against a sea of hands, of constant contacts that clouded the offensive talent and rewarded the defensive sacrifice. The azulgrana escaped slightly in the opening minutes thanks to Sanli's first triple (10-4), who had already recovered from the blow to the head suffered against Gran Canaria.
But the black-and-whites, led by Tomic and with a triple by Pau Ribas, restored equality to the scoreboard at the end of the first ten minutes (12-11). The good work of Carles Duran's men collided in the second quarter with the inspiration of the azulgrana from the perimeter. A triple by Jokubaitis and four between Sanli and Abrines, which was the other novelty in Jasikevicius's team, allowed the locals to take off until they had a lead of 12 points that fell to nine at halftime (40-31).
"We have to improve in defense, they have studied us well," said former Barça player Ribas, the only one who had previously played a playoff semifinal with Penya, precisely against Barça in 2008.
The dynamics did not change in a third quarter that served to see the best minutes of Barça in a long time. Two triples by Joel Parra seemed to put Joventut in the game. A mirage. Nikola Mirotic, until then low key, joined the party with two shots from the 6.75 line and a great board basket after teaming up with Calathes.
Higgins, who gave the scare with a blow to the lower back, sealed Joventut's sentence with a three-pointer before the final tie (69-48). The last quarter was formal, with baskets on both sides of the track that did not jeopardize the Barça victory. Jasikevicius even had time to rest his first swords ahead of the next match in the series on Sunday, again at the Palau.
Barça (12 28 29 20): Calathes (3), Laprovittola (3), Hayes-Davis (7), Mirotic (11), Sanli (16) -initial team-, Davies (13), Sergi Martínez (3), Smits (9), Abrines (6), Higgins (9), Kuric (-) and Jokubaitis (9).
72-Joventut (11 20 17 24): Happy (6), Busquets (2), Parra (8), Willis (11), Tomic (10) -initial team-, Paul (9), Ribas (11), Ventura (-), Vives (7), Bassas (-), Birgander (6) and Maronka (2).
Referees: Antonio Conde, Luis Miguel Castillo and Alfonso Olivares. They eliminated the visitor Vives for five fouls.
Incidents: First match of the Endesa League semifinals series played at the Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona before 5,786 spectators.
