Barça was warned. Alba Berlin was visiting him, one of the worst teams this season in the Euroleague. But also a team that had beaten them in Germany, when the Blaugrana were going through a bleeding slump in their game. There was therefore no room for trust and the one who trusted the least was the German Oscar da Silva, a Barcelona player who had played for Alba and who took the match as an opportunity to vindicate himself. Because Barça completed a simple victory against a rival without too many arguments. But in order to lay the foundations for the victory, Da Silva was a capital piece, with his points, his rebounds, his steals of the ball and his defense. In the only moment of difficulty he emerged and then everything was smooth sailing. Grimau's team strengthens its second position and continues in a positive dynamic, despite its defeat last Sunday in the Endesa League against Valencia.
There are games to have fun and matches to suffer. The one at the Palau between Barça and Alba was one of the first. And it turned out that way from the initial jump. Because the two teams drew without breaking a sweat, turning the opening of the duel into a scoring festival. The German team, with no options in the classification, played without any obligation, neither psychological nor tactical. Meanwhile, Barça was dedicated to distributing the game and further oiling its machinery for next week's Copa del Rey. Up to eight players scored for Roger Grimau's team in the first quarter (in the end there would be eleven). Whoever came out kissed the saint, but Alba, with four triples in this phase, did not lose face of the game, which closed its opening act with a succulent 31-26.
But lo and behold, Barça got lost, had a chain of turnovers and became dull. They were without scoring for four and a half minutes and Alba took advantage of it to take the lead (31-34).
Roger Grimau got tired, called a time-out, returned mainstays like Laprovittola, Vesely and a yesterday intense Oscar da Silva to the court, and Barça got up in a flash. He nailed a spectacular run of 20-2 built on both sides of the court. In attack with aim and in defense with the determination of Da Silva, who also added 10 points at halftime. Barça went to the locker room leading 51-39.
The game no longer had more color than that imposed by the Blaugrana team, which showed a notable defensive attitude and continued to expand its advantage. Soon it was twenty and then rose beyond thirty. That was a drain because Alba lost any collective discipline, they shot without rhyme or reason and their defensive balance was non-existent. A circumstance that Willy Hernangómez took advantage of to fatten his income statement. The center, in favor of work, had no opposition (11 points in the third quarter), posted magnificent percentages and became the top scorer of the game.
Nights of tension, suffering and uncertainty will come. What had to be done against Alba was not to complicate life. Barça even had time to relax without the victory ever being in danger.
