ACB League

AXA FC Barcelona will play in Group G of Top 16 phase together with CSKA Moscow, Unicaja Malaga and Lottomatica Rome and knows it is time to give its best from now on. The team overcame injuries and a slow start to finish third in Group C of first phase right behind Panathinaikos and Real Madrid. Coach Ivanovic has been loyal to his style of basketball, featuring intense man-to-man defence and a patient offensive based on a rock-solid attack and the inspiration of a star-flooded defence. As such, Barcelona enters the Top 16 as one of the best teams in two-point percentage and assists. Barcelona found a reference player in Roger Grimau, whose aggressiveness, intensity and superb driving skills has allowed players like Gianluca Basile or Jaka Lakovic to get more open shots throughout the season. Lakovic has been more comfortable playing shooting guard alongside pass-first playmaker Pepe Sanchez, who has tried to keep everyone happy with his superb court vision. Players like Ersan Ilyasova and Alex Acker have not lived up to the big expectations, however, but they have the most important games ahead of them to prove all the critics wrong. Acker and especially Ilyasova have improved in the last month of competition and are ready for more. Barcelona has had a major attack reference in Mario Kasun, who was sidelined in the final regular season games. Whether he will be fully recovered or not remains to be seen. As such, experienced big man Denis Marconato, do-it-all forward Jordi Trias and especially centre Fran Vazquez have to step up right when it matters. Above all, Barcelona has a package of experience, talent, depth and athleticism that turns the team into a potential nightmare for all its opponents. Therefore by sure that for the three matches that Barça will play at Palau tickets will be sold out.

Basketball team from FC Barcelona seems to be installed on something similar to an switchback. This season the team is able to obtain the best and alternatively the worst. After a tottering start the team was able to lead for a short time both the Euroleague and the domestic ACB League. But some defeats in the last matches played have put in doubt this last project from the coach Ivanovic. The coach from Serbia, well known by his strong character seems unable to obtain the maximum profit of one team for which their budget is one of the most high of the European basketball. Last weekend in the last ACB League match that Barcelona plays against DKV Joventut, one of the most relevant teams this season, it looks like Barcelona was going up on the switchback. The team performed one of the best matches this season and the supporters who full up the Palau enjoyed at last with an exiting basketball match. And one name was over any other one – Roger Grimau. The Catalan escort played a complete match and if Barcelona wants to fight for one of the three major tittles of the season – Euroleague, ACB League and Spanish Cup – he can become the “key player” for the last round of the season.