The desire of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, with nothing at stake beyond their pride, defeated this Friday (84-76), in a Euroleague basketball match, an inconsistent Barça, far removed from the version that had led them to win the previous eight matches between all competitions.
After an even first half (39-36), the Catalan team was reduced by the aggressiveness and outside success of their rival (75-58, min.36), who had their top scorer in Shabazz Napier (18 points). Kyle Kuric (17) led the Barça team in attack.
This defeat left Barça with no chance of reaching first place in the Euroleague and led to their relegation to third place to the benefit of Real Madrid, now second, with one day to go before the end of the regular season.
The match began as a triple duel, with the local Melli against Kuric and Laprovittola. After an even initial stretch (10-11, min.5), with constant alternations on the scoreboard, Barça redoubled their defensive intensity and opened a gap through Kuric, Mirotic and Vesely (12-19, min.7).
Messina then called to order. The Lombard squad raised the physical bar and cut the deficit at the end of the first round (18-21) thanks to points from Voigtmann and Hines from midrange.
The defenses dominated the start of the second round, sparing in scoring (25-26, min.15) also due to Barça's mistake in free kicks, which prevented them from exploiting their dominance in the offensive rebound.
The return of Melli, top scorer at halftime (11) and author of five consecutive points at the buzzer, revitalized the local offense (30-26, min.17). Barça replied with the aim of Kuric and Laprovittola (9 points each at the break), but fell behind at halftime after an agonizing three-pointer from Napier (39-36).
The Barça team needed three baskets against to get closer to the rival's aggressiveness, which led to a succession of fouls and Laprovittola's fourth personal score, reserved for the rest of the quarter.
The inconsistency of the Catalan team on both sides of the track condemned them to trail behind (49-41, min.25) against a more focused and accurate opponent from the perimeter (58-48, min.30).
The trend continued in the last round and Armani Milan stepped up the accelerator, with former Barcelona player Davies taking the lead (75-58, min.36). Resigned to defeat, Barça played the last minutes without their starters and, although they threatened to react with seven points in a row from Tobey (82-73, min.38), they were surpassed (84-76).
84. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (18 21 19 26): Napier (18), Shields (5), Baron (12), Melli (11), Voigtmann (5) -initial team-, Davies (8), Thomas (- ), Pangos (3), Ricci (10), Hall (-), Hines (10) and Datome (2).
76. Barça (21 15 12 28): Satoransky (2), Laprovittola (12), Kuric (17), Mirotic (11), Sanli (-) -initial team-, Da Silva (2), Paulí (-), Vesely (9), Abrines (3), Higgins (6), Tobey (12) and Jokubaitis (2).
Referees: Ilija Belosevic (SER), Matej Boltauzer (ESL) and Gytis Vilius (LIT). Sin eliminated.
Incidents: game of the thirty-third day of the basketball Euroleague played at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan (Italy).
