There is no way. Barça does not find the key and continues to melt. He showed his face at OAKA, one of the most complicated tracks on the continent, Abu Dhabi included, but the ending was the same as always. Panathinaikos won, giving the Blaugrana their fifth defeat in the last six games, four of them in the Euroleague, where entering the playoffs is beginning to be a complicated mission, to say the least.
It was difficult for Barça to leave the idle behind and fuel. The delicate Barça mood and a squad depleted by injuries caused Ataman to choose to place Kalaitzakis over Punter, trying to dry up the rival’s main offensive weapon. And Panathinaikos took advantage of the good work of the Heraklion player, who left the second team scoreless in the first half, to accelerate. A stellar Lorenzo Brown made it 13-6 with two free throws. A green current that supported the entrance of Núñez to the park, without a doubt the best Barça player in the Athenian duel. The first honk, like the second and third, was accompanied by an incredible basket by Nunn, this time from the center of the field – from where he would repeat in the third – that somewhat ruined the good work of Peñarroya’s team (25 -19).
Nunn executed the Blaugrana, who again squandered a decisive possession
Barça was competing again, they were very involved in the game, and it showed. Because the second quarter began with a triple from Nunn that stretched the score but, at the same time, awakened the best version of his rival. In the blink of an eye, the Barça team achieved its first advantage through a more inspired Satoransky than recently (33-34). Those from Peñarroya knew how to set the pace from that advantage and kept Panathinaikos at bay. The match was like a two-on-two fight, with Nunn and Lorenzo for the greens, and Núñez and Parker for the blaugranas. But in his mission to make Barça’s night bitter, Nunn prevented them from going ahead in the light to the locker room with another last-gasp basket.
The third quarter was without a doubt the one that Barça knew how to play best. A three-pointer from Punter, who opened his private locker for the first time, opened the season for Abrines to arrive from behind and begin hammering the green ring until 55-66 (m27). But that was the end of the Peñarroya team’s strength, which began to suffer the wrath of Nunn, who scored three triples in a row – the first from the center of the field at the third horn -, which was followed by another from Mitoglou to confirm the change of trend (72-71, m32).
Barça suffered a lot against an opponent who seemed to have gone into a trance but, confirming that despite all the difficulties they are suffering, persistence is non-negotiable, they managed to keep a cool head and not leave the game completely. Panathinaikos, the current continental champion, is not up to much either and Barça knew how to delve into its weak points. So much so that three free throws by Abrines with 8.9 seconds remaining equaled the score at 89. The last point of the duel was scored by Lessort, also from 4.60. The Blaugrana had 3.2 seconds left to attempt the feat but, as happened against Real Madrid, they wasted the decisive possession in a bad way – what a horror! – and the victory remained in the Greek capital. The problems and doubts returned back to Barcelona.
Technical sheet
90. Panathinaikos (25+20+18+27): Kalaitzakis (0), Brown (18), Grant (8), Hernangómez (4), Lessort (16) -starting team-, Sloukas (6), Nunn (29 ), Mitoglou (9), Yurtseven (0) and Osman (0).
89. Barça (19+26+24+20): Satoransky (11), Punter (6), Abrines (13), Parker (15), Vesely (7) -starting team-, Anderson (8), Núñez (19 ), Hernangómez (6), Parra (4) and Sarr (0).
Referees: Damir Javor (ESL), Carmelo Paternico (ITA) and Luka Kardum (CRO). They eliminated local Nunn with five fouls (min.40). They pointed out a technical foul to the local coach Ataman (min.29).
Incidents: matchday 13 of the Euroleague played at the OAKA Arena in Athens.
#Barça #melts #falls #Panathinaikos
