Between dad and mom, Olympiacos took dad and Fenerbahçe took mom. In a frenetic match, decided in overtime thanks to five points in a row and a steal from Canaan, the Greek team surpassed the Turkish team and took fifth place in the regular phase of the Euroleague. Or, analyzed from another point of view, it became Barça’s rival in the playoffs, leaving Jasikevicius’s team as Monaco’s opponents.
The news reached Barça in the middle of the game against Villeurbanne, a duel in which there was nothing at stake and Grimau’s team suffered its twelfth defeat of the season, the least painful (76-72). He took advantage of the coach to distribute the minutes and give rest to the most tired. Jokubaitis (12) was the only Barça player in double figures in scoring.
The Barça team had already secured home advantage with their victory against Maccabi and the trip to Lyon was nothing more than to fulfill the requirement. What was important for his interests was at stake in Piraeus, where Olympiacos’ victory set him on his path. Barça has won both duels in the regular season against the Greeks, 68-77 in Peace and Friendship and 86-78 in the Palau. But Grimau knows well that in the playoffs all teams find one more gear and a five-game series can last forever.
The day, the last, also defined the play-in, from which the last two playoff teams will emerge, including Real Madrid’s rival. Among them is Baskonia, who with their victory in Bologna ensured that they have two opportunities to seal their place in the top eight.
76. ASVEL Villeurbanne (24 14 19 19): Lee (10), De Colo (9), Lighty (6), Thomas (4), Fall (15) -equipo initial-, Jackson (6), Yaacov (-) , Lauvergne (20), Ndiaye (2), Luwawu-Cabarrot (4) and Kahudi (-).
72. Barça (18 24 15 15): Satoransky (-), Brizuela (7), Kalinic (3), Da Silva (-), Vesely (9) -starting team-, Parker (7), Rubio (5), Nnaji (9), Parra (5), Jokubaitis (12), Abrines (6) and Paulí (9).
Árbitros: Sreten Radovic (CRO), Anne Panther (ALE) y Gentian Cici (ALB). Sin eliminados.
Incidents: matchday 34 of the Euroleague played at the LDLC Arena in Lyon (France).
