The bench player made a decisive impact for the Blaugrana in Round 19.
Joel Parra was Barcelona's X-factor against Baskonia
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 19 of 34
Group Regular Season
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FC Barcelona registered its second consecutive win in 2024, rallying from a double-digit deficit in the final 8 minutes to edge Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 89-85 at Palau Blaugrana in Round 19 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.
Once again, Jan Vesely led the way with 23 points and a PIR of 28. He had 11 points in the final 5 minutes, and 13 in the fourth quarter. Barely two days before, Vesely led Barca to an 83-78 home win against Real Madrid in El Clásico, scoring 11 fourth-quarter points.
Joel Parra was the surprise hero in Round 19
Despite Vesely's clutch performance against Baskonia, Barca would not have won the game without Joel Parra, who stepped up in a key moment to give his team a chance to win the game.
Down 62-73, Barca had been scoreless for more than 3 minutes when Jabari Parker hit a three-pointer. Chima Moneke fouled on Vesely while the ball was in the air, allowing Barca to get the ball back. That allowed Parra to bury a three-pointer: Barca scored 6 points in 8 seconds. It was the start of a 14-4 run which Parra capped with a follow-up layup and the free throw that came with it. All of a sudden, Barca trailed 76-77 with 5:33 remaining, plenty of time for Vesely to step up and lead the hosts in crunch time.
Parra was not done, however. When Markus Howard hit a three-pointer to bring Baskonia within 86-85, Parra drew a foul with 11.0 seconds left and made both free-throw attempts. That forced Baskonia to take an off-balance three-point shot at the other end, which allowed Vesely to grab the rebound and put the victory on ice from the foul line.
"I think we started the game very well against one of the best teams, Baskonia. But I think that, in the third quarter, we started so bad, with low energy and in the last quarter, we put more energy than Baskonia and made threes," Parra said. "It is an important win, we have to keep playing and keep working. Winning here at Palau is so important in front of our fans."
On a night that saw Barca without starting power forward Oscar da Silva, Parra finished the game with career highs of 13 points and a PIR of 18. He only missed 1 shot, grabbed 5 rebounds, 4 of them on the offensive end, and also got 1 steal, 1 assist and 3 fouls drawn.
Above all, Parra was one of Barca's five players in double digits, proving that he can be ready to make a solid contribution when his number is called. In such a tough competition as the EuroLeague, bench depth often separates good teams from Final Four contenders.