The Barça assaults the track of the champion with a great game of Sanli

On his return to Istanbul to confront his former teammates from Anadolu Efes, Sertac Sanli graduated with all honors as a player of the Barça. His was a splendid performance (24 points, 3 rebounds, 4 of 5 in triples) that allowed the Catalan team to hit the table and win on the champion’s court after an agonizing match, which went to extra time and that the players of Jasikevicius They resolved by using character (93-95).

It shouldn’t be easy for Sanli on an emotional level the return to Sinan Erdem, the court of Ephesus where he played the last three seasons. But if so, he did not accuse him. “It was very difficult for me. I cannot describe my feelings. I just tried to do my job & rdquor ;, explained the Turkish pivot, a key player, to turn around a game that the Catalans clearly lost at half-time (47-37) and which they managed to turn thanks to their dominance of the rebound ( 45 rebounds versus 26) and, especially, to his defensive work, which disconnected some of Efes’ key players such as Larkin (14 points, eliminated for fouls) or Beaubois (6), although not to Micic (26 points), the MVP of the last season.

Techniques and eliminated

The match had all the tension and quality that was expected from the repetition between the two finalists of the last Euroleague, which fell on the Turkish side. Mirotic He ended up eliminated for fouls before extra time (with very rigorous fouls), Jasikevicius received a technique and Ataman, Efes coach, was sent off for two techniques for his continued protests in overtime. In that scenario, the Barça he found his little revenge for the defeat in the European final in enemy territory. It was a blow on the table, also with a team very depleted by the injuries of Calathes, Higgins and Abrines. But that forced the bench to take a step forward. They did it Sanli, that was crowned with a portentous performance. They fulfilled Mirotic (18 points) Laprovittola (14 and 8 assists), Kuric (16 points) and the young Sergi Martinez, that continues to earn the minutes. And it should have done it too Nigel Hayes. But he does not quite assume the important role that is expected of him. There are days when it seems in a position to take a step forward. And desperate performances like the one he gave in Istanbul.

The Barça He also showed character to overcome a bad first half in which he made too many mistakes and was vulnerable in defense. He was able to hook into the fight after the restart with a 0-7 run and showed his most competitive version with scoring streaks from Mirotic and Laprovittola and, above all, with the inspiration day of Sanli. He was even able to decide the game before regulation time because he entered the last minutes with a five-point advantage (75-80), but the Ephesus has the soul of a champion and Barça he needed to beat him up to three times before taking a triumph that tastes of glory.

Related news

Anadolu Ephesus, 93- FC Barcelona, ​​95

Anadolu Efes: Larkin(14), Beaubois (6), Simon (10), Moerman (16); Pleiss (13) –cinco inicial- Bryant (2), Micic (26), Anderson (-), Petrusev (4), Dunston (2).

10 of 28 triples (Micic, 3) 26 rebounds, 1 offensive (Moerman,. 6). 14 assists (Micic, 4).

FC Barcelona: Laprovittola (14), Kuric (16), Hayes (-), Mirotic (18), Sanli (24) -initial five- Davies (5), Martínez (5), Smits (2), Orihuela (2), Jokubaitis ( 9), Caicedo (-).

13 of 28 triples (Sanli, 4). 45 rebounds, 14 offensive (Mirotic, 8). 24 assists (Laprovittola, 8)

Partial: 25-20; 22-17; 21-25; 12-18

Reference-www.elperiodico.com

Leave a Comment