Barça leaves UCAM Murcia without Cup

Barça continues with its filming, with its set-up for the important part of the season and against UCAM Murcia it had a good touchstone. It is true that the azulgranas won with relative comfort, that tThey went through the game without major shocks, but also that they had to work to beat the Murcians. From the defense, as Jasikevicius likes, Barça grew throughout the game to leave UCAM with no chance of playing in the Cup. He is not yet a mathematician, but the carambola would be vintage.

It wasn’t the most spectacular start for the fans, but UCAM Murcia and Barça left a great example of the defensive commitment of both teams at the start. Long possessions, forced shots and little success. They had to earn each basket with effort, always on the inside, in the first few minutes where the score was very low. Towards the end of the quarter, with the rotations, the score increased but the commitment of both continued. UCAM could not stop Higgins, who has been close to his best version for a few games, giving Barça a first advantage (13-17).

The second quarter started with two three pointers from Kuric. UCAM had perfectly defended the perimeter until the entrance of Higgins (who also added penetrating) but failed after minute 10. However, they continued to pick up rebounds in attack, which allowed them to keep a close eye on Barça (19-25).. With Jokubaitis at the controls, Barça was more versatile than with Lapro, but they continued to depend on Higgins to spin the offensive game and on Kuric to score. Trice and Diop, from the Murcian side, were for their part the most decisive players. They added in second actions after offensive rebound. They also benefited from Barca’s losses (33-37).

Jasikevicius’s team kept the difference in the third quarter, but they were unable to break the game. They slightly lowered the defensive bar, high in the first 20 minutes, giving space to some baskets from Pustovyi. Anderson’s triples also entered, notably cutting the distance (48-50). Laprovittola’s poor performance, unsuccessful in shooting and unable to direct his team, increased Barça’s discomfort. Until he started scoring. Two consecutive triples by the Argentine, very discreet so far, calmed the waters. It is what players with as much talent as Laprovittola have, who added eleven points out of nowhere (57-65). Vesely’s contribution, from medium distance, was also decisive.

The biggest difference in the match came seven from the end (60-71) in a match that followed the same path. Barça didn’t suffer, they didn’t see victory in danger, but UCAM forced them to work hard. There was no room for relaxation or rotations, but neither for a comeback. Sanli’s points prevented any scare.