Barça recovered the pulse and the home court factor in Malaga. The Blaugrana team improved in attitude and aptitude to subdue Unicaja at home and get one win away from the League final. Jasikevicius's team showed a face more in keeping with their cachet, withstood the onslaught of the Malaga team and in the last quarter shot up on the scoreboard. Up to six Barcelona fans (Laprovittola, Satoransky, Mirotic, Kuric, Abrines and Kalinic) signed ten or more points within a solvent collective function. Barça will have the opportunity to close the semifinal this Tuesday, again at the Martín Carpena.
“We have known how to suffer. This is the path if we want to win the title”, said the Barcelona coach in Movistar.
Jasikevicius was asking his men to increase their energy level and intensity to match the enthusiasm of Unicaja. For this, the Lithuanian needed fresh legs, who decided to incorporate Oscar da Silva and Oriol Paulí into the team, unpublished so far in the series, and give more room to the spirited Nnaji, who responded more than enough.
Because the company did not seem easy at all. He was waiting for a Unicaja at the top of the revolutions and, above all, with a lot of conviction in his options. “We have to be ourselves”, summed up the Málaga coach, Ibón Navarro.
That is why the party did not give up from the second one in a packed Martín Carpena pavilion, with 10,000 souls. If on the first day Barça started better and on the second Unicaja did the same in the third stake, what was lived was a give and take in every span of the pitch. A physical and tactical challenge. A richer basketball than usual, without so much abuse of the triple, at least for a good stretch. On the one hand, Mirotic percussed, with 8 points in the first quarter. On the other, Unicaja offered the best version of Kravish, with 9 points at halftime.
Carter and, especially, Perry burst in with dynamism. He was moving through the Sima painting. He threw Kalinoski from afar with success. They answered for the blaugrana Laprovittola, Abrines and Kuric on the outside and Nnaji with his springs on the inside. The party was traveling on the merry-go-round. Always with short distances for both teams. Now Unicaja was in charge. Now Barça did it. Nobody was detached. No one gave their arm to twist. Barcelona was leading 17-20 at the end of the first quarter. Unicaja did it at halftime (43-40). "We will have to take care of the details," said Jasikevicius.
Details such as controlling the defensive rebound. Barça forgot to do it for a moment and the play went wrong since Laprovittola was charged with the fourth foul as a consequence. There was almost half the game left and the blaugrana had to put one of their helmsmen in the fridge. But then another emerged: Satoransky. His two consecutive triples, seasoned with subsequent assists to Kuric and Vesely, gave Barça a boost, which for the first time in the game felt superior. Jasikevicius' men lengthened the situation and left seven with a 4-15 run. Unicaja reacted but the Barcelona fans, despite the fact that Mirotic was missing in action at that stage, interpreted the game well and entered the fourth quarter leading (60-66).
It remained to be seen if the irregular Blaugrana team would maintain competitive tension or suffer one of its classic disconnections. The first thing happened. Because he fought in defense to short-circuit Unicaja's rhythm and because in attack men joined the cause, like Kalinic. A triple of his put Barça on the way to victory (64-73, minute 34). A path that no longer abandoned. The blaugrana team breathes and can sentence the series this Tuesday.
