If any fan still had doubts about buying a plane ticket to Malaga to enjoy the Copa del Rey, they were completely erased this Sunday. Baxi Manresa and Barça, rivals in the quarterfinals next Friday, delighted the Nou Congost with a crazy match, a scene much more liked by the locals than the visitors, but which Grimau’s team ended up winning.
Pedro Martínez’s team had attacked the Palau in the first round (82-83) and once again there was a vibrant battle that promises strong emotions for Friday at the Carpena.
Barça ended up imposing its superiority, dominating at will in the first half but again disconnected during a stretch of the duel after the break and suffered until the end to secure the victory. The Blaugrana led 27-43 after a triple by Jabari Parker (minute 16), the decisive protagonist in the final minutes. But the advantage quickly disappeared and at the beginning of the last quarter Manresa was even able to turn the score around (65-54) thanks to a basket from an impressive Badio.
On Grimau’s side, Abrines’ reappearance after many weeks of absence stands out, a return that must be interpreted in a cup-opera key.
The Blaugrana accumulated up to 22 losses at the Nou Congost, unable to control the times, infected by the madness that Baxi Manresa always tries to impose. But they were able to hold their nerve in the final minutes, in which Jabari Parker scored a couple of decisive baskets and even received a technical foul for a gesture to the crowd. The success in the triples (11/21 compared to 8/32 for Manresa) was also a determining factor for Barça’s victory. Points that compensated for a bad game by Vesely, who was too dependent on the refereeing trio, and a discreet afternoon by Laprovittola, who never quite felt comfortable on the hardwood.
With the victory, Grimau’s team is third alone (15-7), only behind the intractable Real Madrid (1st/19-3) and Unicaja (2nd/18-4).
Shortly before, the Buesa Arena also enjoyed a great game in which Joventut remained firm in its attempt to return to be among the top eight with a worthy victory against Baskonia (78-81). The undisputed protagonist of the green-black triumph was Andrés Feliz. The point guard not only scored a decisive triple with 11 seconds left, he also put in a legendary performance, with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists that catapulted La Penya to victory.
77. Baxi Manresa (19 19 23 16): Taylor (3), Badio (12), Vaulet (12), Robinson (15), Geben (7) -starting five-; Williams (12), Steinbergs (7), Sagnia (2), Mawugbe (4), Oriola (-) and Pérez (3).
87. Barça (27 20 17 23): Satoransky (15), Laprovittola (5), Kalinic (5), Parker (16), Vesely (3) -starting five-; Hernangómez (12), Jokubaitis (9), Brizuela (12), Abrines (-) and Parra (10).
Referees: Benjamín Jiménez, Alfonso Olivares and Cristóbal Sánchez. They eliminated the visitor Vesely due to five personal fouls (min. 38).
Incidents: Match of the 22nd day of the Endesa Basketball League played at the Nou Congost in front of 5,000 spectators.
