The last time Barça visited the Badalona Olímpic stadium, Joventut fans left the grounds crestfallen, having been eliminated from the Endesa League semifinals, but this Sunday they left with a smile on their faces. La Penya, supported by more than 10,000 people, won the Catalan derby (82-79) thanks to his faith, his regularity and his choral strength against a too irregular Barça that was deflating.
The Catalans dominated the start of a game that was played at a thousand revolutions, with great rhythm. Jasikevicius's pupils found the first green-black cracks in the area, with points from Paulí and Da Silva, and they closed the first gap (4-13) with a triple from Laprovittola.
After the pertinent timeout and by the hand of the veterans Ribas and Tomic, the locals took the pulse of the match. The green and black gradually got closer on the scoreboard, first with the irruption of the shooter Guy, who had an intense duel with Abrines, and then with Parra. But the efforts of Durán's players were in vain against an inspired Vesely, author of the first 12 points for the Barcelona fans in the second quarter.
Jokubaitis took over from the Czech, while Joventut, denied in the triple, without a single hit in the first half, stayed afloat at half-time with a greater effort in defense and thanks to free throws (38-47). .
After the restart, Barça widened the gap with two outside shots, from Higgins and Da Silva (42-55). La Penya, pushed by a devoted fans, did not lose face to the game. Parra, Ellenson, Tomic and Ribas, with a triple, signed a 13-2 run and reduced the difference to two points (55-57). The green and black short-circuited a Barça that only breathed from the free kick in the last minutes of the third quarter (62-66).
Despite going up to eight points of rent, the Catalans continued to be disoriented in the Olímpic park, handcuffed in attack and outclassed in defense by a Joventut side who took the lead for the first time with an easy basket from Parra with four minutes to go ( 71-70). The locals enjoyed themselves and the advantage went up to five points, while the Catalans only found an answer in Laprovittola, author of six points in a row. When everything seemed lost, with ten seconds to go, the Argentine still kept his team's hopes up with a three-pointer (81-79). He was even able to win Barca after an unexpected loss from Vives, but Higgins missed from three-pointer.
Joventut Badalona (20 18 24 20): Feliz (10), Ventura (-), Ribas (16), Parra (14), Tomic (16) -initial team-, Vives (5), Ellenson (6), Birgander ( 5), Guy (10), Busquets (-) and Rodríguez (-).
79. Barça (26 21 19 13): Satoransky (8), Laprovittola (19), Paulí (6), Da Silva (12), Sanli (4) -initial team-, Vesely (14), Higgins (9), Abrines (-), Kalinic (2) and Jokubaitis (5).
Referees: Calatrava, García and Fernández. Sanli was eliminated due to five personal fouls (min. 39).
Incidents: match corresponding to the eighth day of the Liga Endesa played at the Palau Olímpic de Badalona in front of 10,132 spectators.
