Another scare, another victory

If on Tuesday against Maccabi Barça won with some suspense, the victory against Bayern was already with the closest possible ending. The azulgranas left the Germans alive for a good part of the game and they ended up paying for it. They won, yes, but Bayern had a shot to take the game. They won, but again with more suffering than necessary. In a gray duel between Laprovittola and Mirotic, was Vesely who pulled the cart. The Czech’s job was worth a victory that they had to sweat until the last moment.

A pretty game against Bayern was not exactly expected, and from the first minute the suspicions were confirmed. Not because it was a bad game, but because Barça’s defensive obsession and Bayern’s packaging left little room for show. Yes in some individual action, less in the collective. Weiler-Babb took center stage at the start (10-10), but when the Barça triples began to come in, Barça took off with a 7-0 run.

They shot from three, and scored, especially the greats (Mirotic and Sanli) for a Barça that finished the first period well but started the second badly. It was with the rotations, precisely, when he returned to take margin on the scoreboard. And the feeling was the same as in so many games this season. The Catalans dominated, but did not overwhelm their rival. They are known and were superior, but not overwhelmingly. A constant this season that obviously has a positive part, efforts are saved for the really important games, but it also has a major drawback: Barça finds it difficult to close games. And they were hardly going to do it in the first 20 minutes, but they sure They could have gone to the locker room in a much more comfortable situation (34-33). The last two minutes of the quarter, with seven points from Wimberg and denied in attack, heavily penalized the Catalans.

The partial ended up being 2-11, but Barça recovered. From 6’75, and also with greater dynamism in attack. They were momentarily behind on the scoreboard, but quickly regained the lead (44-38). The azulgranas missed too many shots, thus preventing them from opening up more space. Bayern, strong on the rebound and with Rubit increasingly in tune, did not give them much room either. Mirotic did not find his place in a heavy match, with a low score and a wide open (51-47).

Closing the games is one of the facets in which this Barça must improve and against Bayern it almost cost them another displeasure. They quickly went up twelve (63-51) thanks to baskets from two by Vesely and a triple by Higgins. The Czech, one of the best at Barça, was decisive whenever he was on the track. Without big fanfare, without big plays, but always adding up. Bayern, however, can never be left for dead. They got closer again (65-63) and with a minute to go they were tied (70-70). Barça returned to play a game that had dominated in the last possession. Vesely swept up a golden rebound, Higgins scored and Kalinic put on a game-worthy defense on Jaramaz. Another scare, but another victory.