By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
Xavi Pascual spoke to the press after FC Barcelona’s elimination at the hands of Monaco in the final game of the Euroleague play-in tournament, a match that knocked the Catalan team out of contention for the continental title. The coach acknowledged that the game was practically decided from the start: “I would like to congratulate Monaco on this victory. For us, it was a game that was decided in the first quarter. We didn’t play well, we started very badly, and Tomas Satoransky got injured. We froze up, we were paralyzed. In the second half, we were a different team, we came back and had chances to win, but we missed some opportunities, and after Blossomgame’s three-pointer, the game was over.”
Pascual emphasized the team’s lack of consistency as a constant issue, especially in a first half where Barça was far from competitive: “We’ve always been missing something. The team’s performance in the second half was different, but in the first half we lacked both the physical and mental strength to compete. When Satoransky got injured, we lost our way again. In the second half, we managed to get back into the game by playing differently, with Darío Brizuela and Juani Marcos, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Czech point guard’s injury marked an emotional and tactical turning point: “Satoransky has back problems. We gave him injections, he tried, but he couldn’t continue. It was difficult to get back into the game emotionally; we didn’t manage it until halftime, and by then it was too late.”
Beyond this match, the coach reflected on an inconsistent season, hampered by injuries and ups and downs: “So many things have happened to us. We’ve let two or three wins slip away that we clearly should have. We’ve always been playing catch-up, we’ve had to reinvent ourselves many times. The team has been hampered by injuries on numerous occasions. We entered the final stretch with a chance to win in Kaunas, but then we lost Satoransky and that affected us for three consecutive games. We won against Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade, but it happened again today and it wasn’t enough.”
With no time to digest the defeat, Barça must now focus on the domestic competition, where there are still objectives to achieve in the Liga Endesa: “Now we have the game on Sunday morning. 36 hours after the disappointment it won’t be easy to play, but we have to recover and move on. There are seven Liga Endesa games left and we have to finish in the best possible position, although it will be difficult.”
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