The Classic in the Final Four will have to wait. Bayern saved the match ball (59-52) and there will be a fifth at the Palau on Tuesday (20:00) to decide Real Madrid’s rival in Belgrade. This Friday at the Audi Dome was a real nonsense. The best team of the regular season closed the third quarter with only 34 points (the 52 with which the game ended equals its worst mark in the Euroleague) and the most accurate from the line of 6.75 (40.7% accuracy) with a worrying 5/29 in triples.
The initial 0-2, which Sanli put in from the free kick, was the only advantage that Barça had throughout the match. Jasikevicius’ men were denied in attack and what saved them (somewhat) is that Bayern, both in the first quarter and in the second, committed many fouls in a short time. The free throw was a balm for a team that in more than 15 minutes only made three baskets in play. Almost half of the points that Barça had at the break (12 of 25) had come from free throws.
Abrines’ entrance on court gave some oxygen to the azulgranas, who at that moment were already twelve down on the scoreboard (29-17). The Majorcan’s first three-pointer didn’t even touch the rim, but five consecutive points of his tightened the result a little more (29-22). Until that moment, Barça’s statistics were blushing: 3/11 in two shots and 0/8 in triples. Their numbers at halftime weren’t anything to write home about either: 5/14 and 1/11.
Trinchieri’s plan was clear. Mirotic did a lot of damage to the Bavarians in the third game and the Spanish-Montenegrin barely touched the ball in the first four minutes of the game. He finished with 7 points, five of them from free throws. Barça, on the other hand, intended to take advantage of its superiority in the paint with the defensive imbalances of its rival, but Bayern closed well and forced Jasikevicius’ men to shoot wide. And of course, it was not the day.
The game went into a tailspin in the third quarter. The azulgrana team remained anchored in the 25 points until the 26th minute, but at that moment the partial was 3-0 in favor of Bayern. A nonsense! Laprovittola scored a triple and Barça, surprisingly, continued to hold on to possibly their worst game in years (39-28). It didn’t last long. Bayern put land in the middle (48-29, min. 29) and Barça’s threat of reaction (59-49, min. 28) he stayed at that, in a feint, because he arrived too late. The azulgrana team made up the result in a match in which it was clearly inferior. There will be a fifth.