Willy Hernangomez enjoyed a career night in Jan Vesely's absence
Barcelona bigs shined in big French capital win
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FC Barcelona had a victorious return to its place of happiness. At Accor Arena in Paris, the venue where the club won its last Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title in 2010, Barcelona topped Paris Basketball 79-90 in a display of confidence and experience.
It was a completely opposite display from what we witnessed not even two months ago, in Round 10, when Paris went into Palau Blaugrana and dominated in an 87-103 win. That game started a losing streak, as Barcelona entered this game as a loser in seven of its last nine games.
But, from the opening tip on Friday night, Barcelona looked like a team that knew what it wanted and, more importantly, how to get it.
The team's two biggest stars at Accor Arena were its two big men, Willy Hernangomez and Chimezie Metu. Hernangomez finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Metu had 13 points in 15 minutes on the floor.
Both came off the bench, as Youssoupha Fall was trusted into a starting role in the absence of Jan Vesely, and the fact that Fall had 3 field-goal attempts in the early going was a hint of things to come.
Hernangomez was the next one off the bench, before Metu finally stepped on the floor. Paris had no, or very little, answer for Barcelona's game plan, especially when both were on the floor.
The duo showed their strength in the paint, with Hernangomez going 7 for 11 on two-pointers, grabbing 5 offensive rebounds and drawing 8 personal fouls, while Metu was 6 for 7 on two-pointers.
Barcelona made 26 two-point shots, one shy of its season high, on 46 attempts
"For us, it is an important moment," Hernangomez told EuroLeague TV in a postgame interview. "A moment to be together, to try to give more of ourselves to our team. Our fans in Barcelona, they deserve wins and for us to play better."
No one would be able to accuse the team of lack of hustle as Barcelona pulled down 16 offensive rebounds, the third most this season. Players dove after basketballs on the floor, and Tomas Satoransky into the fans in the courtside seats, winning their share of loose balls.
"We are going to play every single game like a final. That's the mentality. I am proud of the guys", Hernangomez said.
His performance, in just over 20 minutes on the floor, might be the biggest reason for optimism. His 23 points and 10 rebounds are both career highs, as is his PIR of 30. It was also the most minutes he has played this season, and this type of Hernangomez certainly deserves time on the floor.
It turned out to be an excellent start to the 2025 for Barcelona, to get back to a winning record (10-9) and get a boost of confidence for a team which next travels to the first-placed AS Monaco before two tough home game against the reigning champ Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens then against Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
"The clock is ticking," Metu said.
"There is still a lot of a season [left to play], but we've got to start getting our rhythm now. We had to come out here and play our game, that was very important to us."