2016-17Regular SeasonRound 23
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 78
FC Barcelona Lassa 83
February 23, 2017 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 MEDIOLANUM FORUM

Tomic, Koponen lead Barcelona to valuable win in Milan

FC Barcelona Lassa snapped its four-game losing streak by downing EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 78-83 at Mediolanum Forum on Thursday. Barcelona climbed to 9-14, while Milan dropped to 7-16 and saw its three-game home-court winning streak come to an end. Ante Tomic led the winners with 19 points on 9-of-12 two-point shooting plus 9 rebounds. Petteri Koponen added 16 points, Sasha Vezenkov had 13 while Tyrese Rice totaled 10 points and 6 assists for Barcelona. Awadu Abass led Milan with 14 points, Andrea Cinciarini scored 11 and Milan Macvan and Mantas Kalnietis each added 10 for the hosts. Two-point shooting percentage allowed Barcelona to get its first road win since November, as it hit 21 of 29 shots inside the arc (72.4%). Barcelona outrebounded Milan 24-26, collected 8 steals and dished 19 assists in the win.

Macvan got Milan going, but a put-back layup by Tomic and a three-pointer by Marcus Eriksson gave Barcelona its first lead, 4-5. Macvan kept pushing Milan and got help from Miroslav Raduljica and Rakim Sanders to give the hosts a 10-9 edge. Tomic scored again, but Ricky Hickman had 5 points in a 7-0 run that gave Milan a 17-11 lead. Koponen followed a triple with a three-point play and Tomic added a reverse layup and a dunk-and-foul for a 19-22 Barcelona edge. A three-pointer by Simone Fontecchio tied it at 22-22 after 10 minutes. Fontecchio struck again from downtown and Abass capped a 10-0 Milan run with a dunk for a 29-22 Milan edge. Vitor Faverani scored down low and Koponen added a three-pointer, which prompted the hosts to call timeout at 29-27. Kalnietis buried one from beyond the arc, igniting a 10-1 run that Davide Pascolo capped with a layup-plus-foul that made it a double-digit game, 39-28. Faverani scored down low, but back-to-back triples by Abass and Macvan broke the game open, 45-30. Rice had 7 unanswered points in a 0-11 run that brought Barcelona within 45-41 at halftime. An unstoppable Tomic dunked twice after the break, Vezenkov followed a three-pointer with a floater and Victor Claver added a tip-in for a 47-52 Barcelona lead. Vezenkov took over with a three-point play, Alex Renfroe added an off-balance shot and an outstanding Koponen helped Barcelona get a double-digit lead, 55-65, after 30 minutes. Koponen hit a jumper that made it a 14-point game, 55-69, as Barcelona started to run the clock down. An acrobatic basket by Faverani and a triple by Vezenkov kept the guests way ahead, 59-74, with over six minutes left. Abass and Cinciarini managed to bring Milan within 70-77 with two minutes to go. Rice stepped up in crunch time to seal the outcome down the stretch.

Ante Tomic - FC Barcelona Lassa - EB16
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Euroleague.net
Referees: MOGULKOC, EMIN; PASTUSIAK, PIOTR; SHEMMESH, SEFFI
Attendance: 9688
By Quarter1234
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan22231023
FC Barcelona Lassa22192418
End of Quarter1234
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan22455578
FC Barcelona Lassa22416583
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 MCLEAN, JAMEL 23:52 8 3/5   2/2 2 1 3 1 1 2     4 2 7
2 FONTECCHIO, SIMONE 20:44 6 0/1 2/3   1   1 3 1 1     5   3
7 HICKMAN, RICKY 16:11 5 1/2 1/3             2       2 2
9 KALNIETIS, MANTAS 17:39 10 2/4 2/6     3 3 6 1 1   1 2 1 11
11 RADULJICA, MIROSLAV 9:54 4 1/2   2/2 1 1 2     1       2 6
12 DRAGIC, ZORAN 5:16 3 0/2 0/2 3/4           1       2 -1
13 MACVAN, MILAN 20:11 10 2/3 2/4   1 3 4 1 2 2       3 15
14 PASCOLO, DAVIDE 15:16 5 2/2 0/1 1/1 2   2     1     4 1 2
20 CINCIARINI, ANDREA 27:43 11 3/6   5/7 2 3 5 4 1 1 1   3 5 18
21 SANDERS, RAKIM 16:58 2 1/3 0/2         2 1 2   1   1 -1
23 ABASS, AWUDU 26:16 14 4/7 2/4 0/2   4 4   2       4 3 12
30 CERELLA, BRUNO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           3   3               3
Totals 200:00 78 19/37 9/25 13/18 12 15 27 17 9 14 1 2 22 22 77
        51.4% 36% 72.2%
Head coach: REPESA, JASMIN
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
FC Barcelona Lassa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 MUNFORD, XAVIER 10:00           2 2 1   3       1 1
2 RICE, TYRESE 26:27 10 1/2 1/4 5/6       6 2 2   1 3 7 14
10 CLAVER, VICTOR 15:49   0/1 0/2     3 3 1   1 1   1 1 1
13 FAVERANI, VITOR 14:49 9 4/5   1/2   1 1   1 2 1   2 3 9
14 VEZENKOV, SASHA 30:15 13 3/3 2/5 1/1 1 4 5 5 3 3     3 2 19
17 KURUCS, RODIONS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 ERIKSSON, MARCUS 16:15 5 1/1 1/2   1   1     1     2 2 4
21 DIAGNE, MOUSSA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
24 OLESON, BRAD 18:24 4 0/1 1/1 1/2       1   2     1 2 2
25 KOPONEN, PETTERI 19:00 16 2/2 3/6 3/3   2 2     2     2 2 13
32 RENFROE, ALEX 24:08 7 1/2 1/4 2/2   3 3 4 1 2     4 1 6
44 TOMIC, ANTE 24:53 19 9/12   1/1 4 5 9 1 1       4 1 24
Team           1 4 5     2         3
Totals 200:00 83 21/29 9/24 14/17 7 24 31 19 8 20 2 1 22 22 96
        72.4% 37.5% 82.4%
Head coach: BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS

Head Coaches

REPESA, JASMIN
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
"We played excellent basketball for 15 minutes, getting a 15-point lead, but there was a moment in which we should have continued playing. Our bench players should have stayed focused and keep playing with intensity, but they didn't do it. We had a very long blackout. We were minus 20 between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. It was difficult to get back in the game and we tried to play with energy, but the difference was too big for us to win the game. I am disappointed because of our fans and also because we don't have many chances [to advance] in the EuroLeague. Not everything went wrong, our two young players had a good game and played with good energy - their plus-minus on the court say it all."
BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"I think it was a great game, very competitive, with many ups and down in the score, but also on the emotions, basically because of turnovers. The second quarter was a disaster; we turned the ball over 10 times in this period. Then at the end of the second quarter, Milan also made 3, 4 turnovers in a row and we came back in the game. Our third quarter was very important and finally crucial in this game because we controlled the game well, played good defense and scored a lot on offense, sharing the ball and playing unselfish basketball. It was an important win for us, basically because Milan came with a lot of confidence after winning the Italian Cup. We have to analyze the game and learn a lesson from it, because 20 turnovers are too many at this level. It is obvious that we play under pressure because we are having a tough season with injuries of basic, experienced players. Somehow, we have to overcome this situation. Good luck to Milano and all the best in the rest of the season."

Players

CINCIARINI, ANDREA
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
"We have to play every game with intensity because this is the EuroLeague and it's an honor to play and compete. We were a little tired, but we lost intensity and didn't play through the end. And I'm disappointed because of this."
TOMIC, ANTE
FC Barcelona Lassa
"Every game is important, especially away from home. It was a tough game as we expected. It is not easy to play here against Milan, after all, they won the Italian Cup a few days ago and were playing with loads of confidence, but in the end, we won and that is the most important thing. I had a good game, nothing special. The most important thing is that the team is playing good and winning."