They set new career highs to help the Blaugrana bounce back from recent losses
Satoransky, Brizuela led Barcelona on a key night in Berlin
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After a couple of losses, FC Barcelona found some light at the end of the tunnel to beat ALBA Berlin 85-99 at Uber Arena in Round 28. It took a team-oriented effort to beat ALBA in the German capital but above all, playmaker Tomas Satoransky gave his team's offense the order and decision-making required to get the victory.
With Juan Nunez and Kevin Punter injured, all eyes were on Dario Brizuela and Satoransky, who shared the point guard duties in this game. Satoransky had 8 of his 12 assists in the second half, setting a new career high. His previous record in assists were the 10 he dished against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in 2022 and against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in Game 2 of the 2016 playoffs. Satoransky added 9 points and 5 rebounds to complete his all-around performance.
Brizuela also helped Barca in many aspects of the game, finishing with 13 points on 2-of-3 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, also a new EuroLeague career high. Brizuela had previously dished 5 assists twice, against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz earlier this season and against FC Bayern Munich in the 2023-24 campaign. Satorasnky and Brizuela combined for 18 assists and just two turnovers.
Their inspired performance allowed a lot of players to get solid contributions, especially off the bench. After a couple of games seeing limited playing time, Willy Hernangomez had 15 points in 24 minutes. Joel Parra had 9 points, including a wild alley-oop slam, and 4 rebounds.
Barca's bench players combined for 51 points, which says enough about the depth of coach Joan Penarroya's team, despite being without three injured players. Added to Nunez and Punter, center Jan Vesely remains sidelined, added to Nico Laprovittola's long-term absence.
After the game, Brizuela highlighted his team's resilience, battling injury problems to stay competitive.
"Man, this season has been really hard for us with all the injuries, all the up and downs. We are fighting a lot at this moment with four guys out, with all the young guys, a lot of problems with the guys that are supposed to be healthy. So I'm really proud of my team right now," Brizuela said.
"The way we fought, it was amazing. We did a good job in the first half, but with so many mistakes and we were really tired at the end. We made some big plays both in offense and defense and that's the way to play basketball."