In the Lithuanian quarter-finals, “Barcelona” let go of the home field advantage

The time has come for the start of the last quarter-final in the EuroLeague – two Lithuanian clubs clashed with each other.

Barcelona’s Barcelona with Roku Jokubaičius after a tough fight at home 75:77 (18:19, 17:25, 19:17, 21:16) fell against Piraeus Olympiacos with Igna Brazdeikiu and trailed in the series by three wins 0:1.

Barcelona looked for the first point for more than four minutes, and after playing six and not stopping Moustapha Fallo, they trailed 4:11. The initiative was then taken by Jabari Parker and Nicolas Laprovittola, who reduced the result to a minimum (14:15). Ignas Brazdeikis distinguished himself by keeping his body balance after the contact, and Rokas Jokubaitis provoked Isaiah Canaan’s mistake. Alejandro Abrines scored the last points of the quarter – 18:19.

In the second quarter, Alejandro Abrines brought the tribune to its feet with two three-pointers, R. Jokubaitis’ pass found Oscar da Silva – 27:30. Later, the offensive player from Lithuania ended two consecutive attacks with two points – 34:35. Unsportsmanlike foul on Jan Vesely for hitting Moses Wright in the face. Soon after, he brought down Thomas Walkup and risked ending his game early, but after a review, he was not given a second unsportsmanlike foul. Olympiacos went to rest with a solid advantage – 44:35.

After the long break, the Piraeus club gained a double-digit advantage, but Th. Walkup earned a technical penalty after committing a foul. Four violations of the defender’s rules forced him to sit on the bench for a long time. It did not match the Greeks, on the contrary – Nigel Williams-Goss set a new record distance between the teams (60:47). By the end of the quarter, the Catalans managed to create a slightly more comfortable situation – 54:61.

When the Catalans got even closer, I.Canaan provoked a foul by throwing from a distance, and M.Fallas added a free throw (65:58). With six minutes left to play, Georgios Bartzok pulled the trump card with a first-down layup by Nikola Milutinova, and Shaquielle McKissic brought the lead back to double digits (69-59). After another Barcelona rush, I.Canaan shot from a distance, N.Milutinov charged with a foul (75:67).

After returning to the field, Th. Walkup made a mistake and unsportsmanlike fouled Ricky Rubio. The fifth foul sent Olympiacos’ attack organizer to the bench, and the combination with the previously received technical penalty sent him to the locker room. The Spaniard threw free throws, but the attack after them ended in a mistake (72:75). Filipas Petruševs, who was stopped by a hard foul on the other side of the field, suffered an injury and could not continue the match. In the remaining time, Barcelona did not save.

In the Piraeus club, I. Brazdeikis scored 2 points (1/2 double points), rebounded 2 balls and collected 3 utility points in 8 minutes.

On the other side of the barricades, R. Jokubaitis scored 6 points in 14 minutes (3/5 double-pointers), rebounded, intercepted and lost the ball each, made 2 assists, fouled 2 times and collected 6 utility points.

J. Vesely, who celebrated his 34th birthday on the pitch, failed to create a celebration. The Czech, who did not achieve victory, did not shine individually either, collecting 3 points in 20 minutes. Overall, the game was not marked by outstanding individual performances, with no player scoring more than 15 points or 16 assists.

Olympiacos managed to take the fortress of the guests by making 19 mistakes, losing the battle for the ball (31:33), shooting poorly from three-pointers (5/17, 29 percent) and playing without captain Kostos Papanikolaou.

In the regular season, these teams collected 22 wins and 12 losses each, but due to the head-to-head results, the higher place and home field advantage went to the Catalans. In October they won in Piraeus (77:68), and in January they also defended their home walls (86:78), so they lost to the Greeks for the first time already in the playoffs.

Among the four teams that started the playoffs with home field advantage, only Real Madrid retained that advantage after the first leg. The second match in Barcelona will take place on Friday at 22:00.

Barcelona: Willy Hernangomez (4/9 2-pointer, 5 rpg) and Jabari Parker (3/8 2-pointer, 7 rpg, 4 turnovers) each 13, Alejandro Abrines 11 (3/7 3-pointer), Ricky Rubio 10 (2 /5 three-pointers, 7 assists, 4 fouls), Nicolas Laprovittola 9 (1/6 three-pointers).

Olympiacos: Nigel Williams-Goss 15 (4 fouls), Isaiah Canaan 14 (3/7 3-pointers), Filip Petrushev 12 (4/4 2-pointers, 5 rpg), Moustapha Fallas 11 (5/6 2-pointers, 4 rpg). ), Shaquielle McKissic 9 (4 RBI, 3 RBI).

“Long break”: Wolves lineup for next season – which players lived up to expectations and who disappointed, who is worth keeping, candidates to strengthen the squad in the summer, the question mark over Pacevičius’ future and the figure of Maksvytis