The best version of Joventut de Badalona reappeared this Sunday at the Palau to match their Endesa League semi-final series against Barça and, even more importantly, recover the court factor.
At the right moment, Duran rescued the most competitive face of his team, the one that has been seen so many times this season but has been mixed with an irregularity that has weighed him down both in the Cup and in Europe, and stormed the Palau with all those of the law.
The other side of the coin was that of Barça, who repeated the mistakes of almost always completing a third quarter that was too poor in which they threw away all their chances of victory.
Jasikevicius’s team doesn’t seem to be learning, hitting the same wall over and over again without anyone, on the bench or on the court, being able to find solutions. It was already hard for him to get knocked out early in the final four and he will have to straighten himself out if he doesn’t want it to cost him his league options as well.
Barça dominated until the final stretch of the first half with a certain solvency, although from the beginning a much more intense Penya was seen, especially in defense, than in the first game.
The azulgrana team managed to lead 35-28 after a basket by Calathes (minute 14) but Joventut looked very involved, with Vives, Tomic and Feliz doing mischief and a very successful Bassas. The verdinegro team handled the ball well, going into the break with only one loss for Barça’s 9. Feliz’s appearance turned the score around and La Penya was able to go into the break ahead (40-42).
The third quarter was once again dramatic for Barça, like so many other times, and it was then that Joventut was hungry and more comfortable than ever, running whenever he could and with a very successful Tomic in the middle distance, well supported by a Joel Parra who had a great time. The scoreboard began to break down, with Barça’s injury reaching 46-59, when Bassas scored a three-pointer. Tomic premiered the last act with 55-70 and all the Barça reactions until the end were in vain. The locals did not have a clear reference in attack and did not know how to make the best decisions against a rival that did not spare a single effort. The only negative note in a dark green key was Andrés Feliz’s ankle sprain at the last minute, which could turn into a weight loss.
In their first semifinals in 14 years, Joventut went up 1-1, winning eight years later at the Palau and regained the court factor. The series will now move to Badalona, ??where on Wednesday and Friday two derbies will be played with brutal intensity. A litmus test for Barça and a golden opportunity for La Penya.
