Kevin Punter, Jan Vesely and Tomas Satoransky came up huge in a playoff-clinching win
Veterans made key, clutch plays for Barcelona to punch playoff ticket
Makale
3 Dk okuma
Regular Season
Round 34 of 34
Group Regular Season
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FC Barcelona is playoff bound. Few thought that would be the case when Barcelona lost four of its last five games and was 14-13 at the end of February, sitting outside the postseason spots in 11th place.
However, fifth-placed Barcelona is now pitted against AS Monaco in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, having completed a big turnaround with a hard-fought and dramatic 91-87 win over long-eliminated Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Friday night.
“They are a good team, despite the record,” said Kevin Punter, the game’s top scorer with 20 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting. “Glad we were able to pull it out.”
Pull out the win they did. After Barcelona controlled the game for the first three quarters, Virtus stormed in front in the fourth and led 76-81 with under 4 minutes to play.
“We were struggling there at the end, but we found the way to win, that’s the most important,” said Tomas Satoransky, who collected 11 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.
“We knew how to stay in the game. We made some big plays at the end, made big free throws and good defense. It was a game to win in whatever fashion.”
Even though it was Joel Parra who scored a layup that made it 89-87 and put Barcelona up for good with 31.7 seconds to go, and Jabari Parker made game-sealing free throws some 20 seconds later, it was Barcelona’s seasoned EuroLeague veterans – former All-EuroLeague players – who had key roles.
For starters, Punter forced a jump ball at mid-court with 58 seconds left when he knocked out the ball from Isaia Cordinier. Virtus did win the jump ball, but the remaining 8 seconds on the shot clock were not enough to score.
On the ensuing possession, Punter and Jan Vesely, back in the lineup after missing 10 games, played high-low, finding a cutting Parra under the basket for an easy layup and a go-ahead bucket.
After a timeout, Virtus had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Vesely played perfect pick-and-roll defense, then with the help of Punter and Satoransky forced Matt Morgan to travel.
Barcelona got the ball, Parker made free throws and the game was over, with the playoff celebrations ready to start.
“I think we deserved to be in the playoff, and to be in the fifth position,, head coach Joan Penarroya said. “Our season was very complicated, with many problems with injuries. The team fought, fought, fought every game. For Barca, it is not enough to play in the playoffs, but it is a day to enjoy.”
Barca has had really had terrible luck with injuries. In addition to Vesely, it has lost key players such as point guards Nico Laprovittola and Juan Nunez, as well as big man Chimezie Metu, to season-ending injuries.
“A lot of adversity this year, and we were able to finish fifth,” Punter said. “A true testament of us being a team, sticking together through good times, bad times. We were able to finish strong and now we get ready for the playoffs.”
There, Barcelona will face Monaco, a team it beat both times this season.
“Monaco is a great team, with a lot of stars, a lot of great individual players,” Satoransky said. “We beat them twice this season, but that does not play a role in the playoffs.”