He has learned Barça to travel through the cornice with the same tranquility as a little devour a chupa-chup. So much so that, with everything against him, with the elimination of Euroleague as the most normal departure after losing the two games in Monaco, Peñarroya’s team has been able to match the tie and force the fifth game that will house Gaston Medecin next Tuesday.
As if the third envy had not existed, the series recovered its very high degrees of tension this Friday in a Palau, this time, its best galas. In just a minute, Blossomgame and Fall had already threatened to engage in a fight, which ended the long bones of French on the bench by technical decision, as if Peñarroya tried to calm the thing.
Jabari Parker and Darío Brizuela points in the last quarter ended the Monegasca resilience
The beginning of Barça was glowing. The triples happened (5/8 in the first quarter) and the vertigo seized parquet. Nobody had a better time than Jabari Parker, than to run and throw away few people. Thus, with a tier delivered and faced the shortest path to aphonia. A triple of Brizuela stretched until 21-6 that allowed to dream of eyes open to Barcelona.
The Monaco did not get nervous at any time, open the umbrella and patiently waiting to spend a storm. The Electricity lost the Barca team in the second quarter, when nothing came in and those of the Principality, like an ant, began to cut little by little. The nerves began to seize Barça, who was more concerned with protest than playing. In one of these, Peñarroya could no longer contain himself and received a technique, which caused the spotlights of the stands to also turn towards the experienced arbitration trio.
The Monegasca reaction reached limits already worrying for the locals when Diallo added 27-30. Just 4 points had scored Barça in eight minutes of the room, regardless of having already accumulated 13 losses in what was grieving, a more than alarming figure.
The final stretch of the first half caused some of the hottest moments of the whole season in the Palau, which understood that the arbitration criteria to point out the faults was being different to one side and another on the track. Satoransky agreed, outraged, who received a free blow of more handling the ball and received another technique. Two consecutive triples of Brizuela somewhat calmed the waters. But the thing concluded with four free throws scored by Strazel (35-38) that accentuated Barcelona anger, leaving the free throw account in 2 to 21 in favor of Monaco-the Principality barely launched one in the entire second half, just as stranger was. With more or less reason, path of changing rooms, the referees took the largest anger of the Palau in a long time.
Monaco seemed to better understand what the game required and left the parquet more serene. With Mike James marking the steps and Theis placing 36-44, the maximum Monegasca of the hot night in the Palau, Barça could not wait any longer to land the parquet again and continue feeding the dream. With more pause of the usual, they knew those of Peñarroya scalar step by step until the soldier Anderson matched the bright to 58 with a room to play.
Barça had left for ten minutes to continue grabbing life, to write a piece of history, and Brizuela took the pen and began to move his wrist to put his own to advantage. Jabari Parker, with key baskets, picked up the scoring witness that allowed Barça to face the final stretch with the tranquility of the one ahead. An advantage that managed perfectly to force the fifth and, this time, decisive game. Little more can be required to this loss team. A Abu Dhabi goes through Monaco.
Joan Peñarroya, about the fifth game
“We are going to try to win the war even with slopes against bombs” “
The Barça coach underlined his proud before the reaction of his players, who always compete until the end despite the circlestances. He also thanked the public’s support: “A large atmosphere has been generated in the Palau and has helped us add this victory, but the series does not end until a team adds three victories.”
Peñarroya did not want to excuse himself in the injured but he remembered the delicate situation of his staff: “No Euroleague team has had the problems we have had, they have not even approached. But even if we are few, we will go to war to try to win it, even with slicing against bombs.”
Technical file
79. Barça (23+12+23+21): Punter (11), Satoransky (3), Anderson (7), Parker (22), Fall (9) -initial team-, Hernangómez (6), Brizuela (17), Abrines (0), Parra (4) and Villar (0).
72. Monaco (14+24+20+20): James (6), swimming (13), lullo (8), theis (7) – Initial equipping-, Jaiteh (10), Loyd (7) and Brown (2).
Referees: Robert Lottermoster (Ale), Emin Mogulkoc (Tur) and Tomislav Hordov (Cro). Okobo visitor eliminated with five fouls (min.40). The local coach Joan Peñarroya (min.14), the Satoransky premises (min.20) and the Diallo visitor (min.33).
Incidents: Fourth match of the quarterfinals of the Euroleague played at the Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona against 7,018 spectators.
