The 18-year-old, in his season debut, was just what the doctor ordered for Joan Penarroya's side
Dame Sarr was the spark Barcelona needed against ASVEL
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Regular Season
Round 5 of 34
Group Regular Season
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FC Barcelona protected its home court on Friday night in a hard-fought battle against a feisty LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne side, which held slim leads for the majority of the night, with 18-year-old guard Dame Sarr helping breath life into his team.
The 90-83 win, which improved Barcelona's record to 4-1, tying it with Zalgiris Kaunas for the best in the league, is even more important given the week the team had just gone through. Last weekend, guard Nico Laprovittola went down with a serious-looking injury that on Monday was confirmed as a season-ending ACL tear. A couple of days later, the Barcelona squad posted a video on social media wishing "Lapro" a speedy recovery.
With Theo Maledon and Neal Sako leading ASVEL at Palau Blaugrana, and Nando De Colo and Charles Kahudi doing all the right things for the first three quarters, it looked like Barcelona might suffer another shock, this time in the form of a home defeat.
But Kevin Punter was making shots throughout the night, Tomas Satoransky made a couple of clutch triples, and Jan Vesely did his job, both in the paint and on the perimeter. But one name everyone one was mentioning after the game was that of Sarr.
"It was important for us that Dame Sarr improved our energy," coach Joan Penarroya said on EuroLeague TV after the game.
Sarr spent just 7 minutes on the floor. He had a brief appearance in the first half, then entered with 46 seconds left in the third quarter, immediately grabbing a defensive rebound. He opened the fourth with a blocked shot on the perimeter, then had a steal as Barcelona had encountered problems controlling defensive glass early in the fourth.
And when ASVEL went up 71-76, Sarr immediately nailed a corner triple, starting a 12-3 run which gave Barcelona the lead for good.
In the last quarter ASVEL scored 14 points, and Sarr was one of the reasons Barcelona managed to slow the visitors down.
"In the second half we changed our intensity," Jan Vesely said. "Shout-out to Dame Sarr, he really brought the energy on the court and lifted everybody."
"He did a great job with that, and that's what you expect from a young guy, to help you with that."
Sarr finished with 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block. For him, this was his season debut, and third appearance in the competition. An Italian native who has come through Barcelona's youth system, he grabbed his chance and showcased his talent.
Hard to stop at youth level, Sarr showed he has something to offer Barcelona's first team, and defensive hustle is what will bring him opportunities.
With Laprovittola sidelined, everyone will need to chip in something extra the rest of the way. And Sarr showed on Friday night how even a contribution from the bench in limited minutes can make a big difference.