Sertac Sanli, Mike Tobey came up big for Barcelona in Game 1
It was no real surprise when FC Barcelona's starting five included Jan Vesely against Zalgiris Kaunas in Game 1 of the 2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, but it ended up being Sertac Sanli and not the 2019 MVP who had the biggest impact from the 5 position in the Blaugrana's 91-69 victory.
Sanli finished with 17 points after going 4-of-6 on two-pointers, 2-of-3 on triples and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line, which is his new playoff record for points as a Barca player. Previously, the highest total he achieved was the 16 points he scored in Barca's third-place game against Olympiacos Piraeus last season. Against Zalgiris, Sanli also pulled down 5 rebounds, dished 1 assist, recorded 1 steal and didn’t commit a single turnover in 16:47 minutes on the floor.
Sanli made an instant impression after replacing Vesely with 2:18 left in the first quarter, as he grabbed an offensive rebound and completed a three-point play to give Barca a commanding 14-point lead, 20-6. At the end of the first quarter, Sanli poured water on any feint hopes of a Zalgiris resurgence by scoring a layup to end a 0-4 run for the visitors, 22-13.
The 31-year-old replicated his first-quarter totals of 5 points and 1 rebound in the second quarter, with 3 of those points coming courtesy of a three-pointer just before halftime. First it was Sanli who struck from deep and then it was Nikola Mirotic, as Barca closed the first period ahead by 17 points, 48-31.
Zalgiris struggled to deal with Sanli whenever he was on the floor, and that theme continued after the break, with the Barca big man adding 2 points and 1 assist in the third quarter before scoring 5 points, grabbing 3 rebounds and having 1 steal in the final period.
Sanli ended the night as Barca's – and the game's – top scorer with his 17 points, and he helped set the tone for the rest of the games in this season, from the hosts' perspective at least. Yet, the center is trying to keep everyone's feet on the ground after Barca's 22-point victory.
"The score looks good, but it was a really tough game because it was a playoff game," said Sanli in his post-game interview. "We prepared for it and we put the hustle on the court – from the jump ball until the end. That's how we won the game. We need to keep playing like this. We need to keep hustling on the court, and we can get the next game."
The luxury for Barca head coach Saras Jasikevicius is that he can call upon two very talented backup centers in Sanli and Mike Tobey, who both have different skillsets to regular starter Vesely and can apply pressure on the Czech international. Tobey also had a good impact against Zalgiris with 9 points and 7 rebounds, meaning that Barca's backup bigs combined for 26 points and 12 rebounds. That type of contribution more than made up for a quiet night by Vesely, who finished with 4 points, 3 boards and 1 steal.
With Game 2 set to take place on Friday night, less than 48 hours after Game 1 concluded, it will be key that Barca continues to get production from its big men, particularly considering the joy the hosts had on the offensive glass. Barca grabbed a total of 37 rebounds against Zalgiris in Game 1, of which 13 came on the offensive end. Sanli and Tobey grabbed 3 apiece, meaning that they had just under half of Barca's offensive rebounds on the night.
There's still some way to go before Barca can start planning its third successive trip to the Final Four, but with notable contributions from bench players like Sanli and Tobey, it's hard to see how Zalgiris can keep pace with one of the EuroLeague's behemoth clubs. Let's see how things pan out in Game 2 on Friday night.