2015-16Top 16Round 11
FC Barcelona Lassa 72
Real Madrid 65
March 17, 2016 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 PALAU BLAUGRANA

Perperoglou's late heroics push Barcelona past Madrid!

In a Game of the Week edition of El Clasico, their world-renowned rivalry, FC Barcelona Lassa raced ahead early and held on to beat Real Madrid 72-65 at home in Palau Blaugrana on Thursday. Both teams now have 6-5 records in Group F, but Barcelona has the edge between them after beating the reigning Euroleague champions twice in this Top 16. Stratos Perperoglou came up with big plays late to lead Barcelona with 20 points. Tomas Satoransky helped his team dominate early and finished with 17 points, while Justin Doellman scored 11 and Joey Dorsey pulled 10 rebounds. Madrid got 16 points from Gustavo Ayon and 11 from Felipe Reyes, but they were the only visitors to break double digits. Satoransky and Doellman shined early as Barcelona shocked Madrid with a 16-0 run to a 19-2 start. The 25-4 score after 10 minutes marked Madrid's lowest output in a quarter this century, and back-to-back triples by Pau Ribas soon boosted Barcelona's lead to a high of 31-6. Sergio LLull and Jeffery Taylor fueled a 0-12 comeback run to bring Madrid within 40-28 at halftime. A three-pointer by Perperoglou boosted Barcelona's lead to 49-32 in the third quarter, but Sergio Rodriguez, Ayon and Jaycee Carroll fueled a 3-19 closing run to make it 52-51 after 30 minutes. A triple by Carroll completed Madrid's 25-point comeback, 52-54, early in the fourth quarter and the visitors still led 63-64 in the next-to-last minute on back-to-back dunks by Ayon. But there the historic comeback try ended as Perperoglou followed a three-point play with free throws as Barcelona took a 68-64 lead with 54.4 seconds left and never looked back.

First quarter: 16-0 run puts Barcelona way ahead

Satoransky got Barcelona going with a three-pointer from the top of the key and erased Felipe Reyes's tip-in with a driving layup for a 5-2 lead. Doellman buried a step-back jumper and followed that with free throws to boost Barcelona's lead to 9-2. Satoransky insisted from downtown to make it a double-digit game, 12-2, forcing Madrid to call timeout. Brad Oleson joined the three-point shootout, as Madrid kept missing close shots. The visitors had been scoreless for 5 minutes when a wild, put-back slam by Joey Dorsey ignited the crowd at 17-2. A fastbreak layup by Stratos Perperoglou capped a mammoth 16-0 run during which Madrid missed 9 consecutive shots until Augusto Lima stepped up with a layup. Ante Tomic found Satoransky for an easy basket and soon added a layup that made it a 19-point game, 23-4. Doellman scored again to extend his team's lead to 25-4 after 10 minutes. That not only left Madrid with its lowest-scoring Euroleague quarter this century, but the 21-point difference matched the highest after one quarter in Top 16 history.

Second quarter: Madrid bounces back with late run

Lima shined with a two-handed dunk early in the second quarter, as Madrid tried to improve its ball circulation with Sergio Rodriguez and a recovered Rudy Fernandez together on court. Barcelona found a new go-to guy in Pau Ribas, who nailed back-to-back three-pointers to break the game open at 31-6. Rodriguez took over with a driving layup that Andres Nocioni followed with a three-pointer in transition to bring Madrid a bit closer, 32-11. Marcus Eriksson hit a put-back layup for Barcelona, but Sergio Llull and Nocioni kept the guests within 33-14. Gustavo Ayon stepped up with a reverse put-back that Perperoglou bettered with a three-pointer. Doellman hit a free throw and Tomic added a put-back layup as the Barcelona lead stayed strong at 39-16. Llull tried to change things for Madrid with consecutive triples, making the hosts call timeout at 39-22. Jeffery Taylor joined the three-point shootout and Ayon dunked to cap a 0-12 Madrid run before Samardo Samuels scored for Barcelona to fix the halftime score at 40-28.

Third quarter: Los Blancos get back in the game

Satoransky ignited the crowd with a one-handed dunk immediately after the break. Ayon and Perperoglou exchanged close baskets, as the game turned into a physical battle. Perperoglou insisted with a jump-hook that gave Barcelona a 46-30 lead. K.C. Rivers made free throws but a red-hot Perperoglou did betted with a three-pointer that sent the crowd to their feet at 49-32. Jaycee Carroll answered from downtown and a fastbreak slam by Ayon kept Madrid as close as 49-37. Rodriguez buried a triple in transition to get Madrid within single digits, 49-40, making Barcelona call timeout. Doellman stepped up with a turnaround jumper but Reyes followed free throws with a close basket that made it a seven-point game, 51-44. Perperoglou split free throws but a reverse layup by Ayon and a three-pointer by Carroll brought Madrid within 51-49. A layup off a steal by Rodriguez made it a one-point game, 52-51, at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter: Down to the wire - again!

Another three-pointer by Carroll completed one of the most unbelievable comebacks in Euroleague history, 52-54, but it was still early in the fourth quarter. Reyes nailed a mid-range jumper and Ayon stayed on fire with a tip-in to boost Madrid's lead to 52-58. Barcelona needed answers and found a go-to guy in Satoransky, who followed a three-pointer with an outstanding slam that made Madrid call timeout at 57-58. Both teams struggled to score for 2 intense minutes until Reyes stepped up with a four-meter jumper. Oleson answered with a coast-to-coast layup, as Madrid tried a small lineup with Jonas Maciulis at power forward. A put-back layup by Dorsey put Barcelona back ahead, 61-60, with 3 minutes left. Ayon briefly silenced the crowd with a big slam and erased Oleson's free throws with another alley-oop dunk for a 63-64 Madrid lead in the next-to-last minute. That's when Perperoglou took over with a critical three-point play and soon added free throws to make Madrid call timeout, 68-64, with 54.4 seconds to go. Reyes split free throws, Dorsey missed twice from the line but Oleson got a key offensive rebound that allowed Perperoglou to seal the outcome with free throws as Madrid ran out of time.

Tomas Satoransky - FC Barcelona Lassa - EB15
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; VIATOR, EDDIE; BOLTAUZER, MATEJ
Attendance: 7142
By Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa25151220
Real Madrid4242314
End of Quarter1234
FC Barcelona Lassa25405272
Real Madrid4285165
FC Barcelona Lassa
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 DOELLMAN, JUSTIN 32:04 11 3/7 0/1 5/5   4 4 1 2     1 1 4 15
6 DORSEY, JOEY 17:52 4 2/2   0/4 3 7 10 2   1 2   4 4 13
8 RIBAS, PAU 9:33 6 0/1 2/3     3 3     2         5
13 SATORANSKY, TOMAS 32:37 17 4/9 3/4     3 3 3 1 2 1   1 4 20
14 VEZENKOV, SASHA 4:22               1 1 1       2 3
20 ERIKSSON, MARCUS 7:35 2 1/2 0/1   1   1           4   -3
21 DIAGNE, MOUSSA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
23 SAMUELS, SAMARDO 6:29 1 0/2   1/6 2 1 3         1   3 -1
24 OLESON, BRAD 26:47 7 1/6 1/2 2/2 4 1 5 1 1 1     3 2 6
30 ARROYO, CARLOS 8:51   0/3 0/2   1   1     2   1     -7
33 PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS 34:46 20 4/6 2/7 6/9 2 4 6     2     4 7 17
44 TOMIC, ANTE 19:04 4 2/3     2 4 6 1 1 4 1   3 1 6
Team           3 3 6               6
Totals 200:00 72 17/41 8/20 14/26 18 30 48 9 6 15 4 3 20 27 80
        41.5% 40% 53.8%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI
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
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 RIVERS, KC 10:11 2 0/1 0/1 2/3       1         3 2 -1
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 18:42   0/1 0/3     2 2 2   2     2 2 -2
6 NOCIONI, ANDRES 14:34 5   1/2 2/2   1 1   1       2 1 5
8 MACIULIS, JONAS 18:00   0/3 0/4   1 3 4   2 1   1     -3
9 REYES, FELIPE 15:32 11 4/7   3/4 3 1 4     2 1 2 4 4 8
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 27:06 8 2/6 1/6 1/1   5 5 6 1 3 1   2 3 10
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 29:11 16 8/12     4 3 7   4 2   1 4 2 18
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 18:55 9 0/3 3/5     3 3           2 2 7
22 LIMA, AUGUSTO 7:13 4 2/2               1     1 1 3
23 LLULL, SERGIO 27:07 7 0/3 2/5 1/2 1 1 2 4   1     3 2 4
41 HERNANGOMEZ, WILLY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 13:29 3 0/1 1/1   1 3 4   1 1 1   5 1 3
Team           3 1 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 65 16/39 8/27 9/12 13 23 36 13 9 14 3 4 28 20 55
        41% 29.6% 75%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
FC Barcelona Lassa
"First of all, congratulations to our fans at Palau Blaugrana, who helped us so much. I have to thank them for their support in this win in a game in which we played the best 17 minutes of the entire season, at the beginning of the game. Everything we looked for from a tactical point of view worked for us on defense and offense, with complete control of rebounds, passes, shots and intensity. We played fantastic in those minutes. Two consecutive three-pointers by Sergio Llull and another by Jeffery Taylor allowed then to get within 12 at halftime. We missed 4 free throws in those minutes and lost part of our cushion. Losing Pau Ribas to injury was tough: he was playing really well on both sides of the court. We started to play without the intensity and creation we needed and Madrid managed to return to the game and take the lead. After that, my players had a great mental effort, played with heart and that allowed us to win. I am happy with the good minutes we had, but also for those in which we played with heart. It is not easy to limit such a talented team to 65 points and that is a credit to us. It is also difficult to beat them three times in a row, so we are very happy. We played great basketball for 17 minutes and were able to bounce back from a tough situation. Tomas scored five critical points and Perperoglou had a great run at the end. We had to be positive and keep our good basketball and great heart in the final minutes."
LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"Congratulations to FC Barcelona for this win. The game was conditioned by our start. We missed 3 or 4 open shots and that had a lot of weight for us early on. They rolled in the first quarter and it had the feeling that we were not in the game. The team was able to come back, we were able to change that and managed to take the lead. When we were 5 or 6 points ahead, we missed a couple of shots, very open ones, that could have killed the game. Barcelona kept fighting and played better than us in the final 3 minutes. Congratulations to Barcelona and we learn from this loss in a decisive moment of the Top 16, with just three games left. It was a strange game because of the big difference in the beginning. After that, probably we only had the feeling that the game was balanced in the final 6 or 7 minutes. We were better than them in a lot of moments, rallying and getting the lead. We have to learn from our bad start in the game and at the same time, the work we did after that shows us the right way. We have to analyze it and improve in the near future."

Players

SATORANSKY, TOMAS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"It was a great win for us, especially after their reaction in the second half. Madrid is a team that can make a run and get in a game easily, as they did after our big first quarter. So the reaction of our team was very important and I hope it gives us more confidence. We are third right now, but in this group, it's game by game. Now we have to go to Vitoria and play with focus because we didn't have good games on the road so far."
PERPEROGLOU, STRATOS
FC Barcelona Lassa
"I am glad that we were able to win the game. A win against Madrid is always great and it was a very nice game. We started the game with a high rhythm but they are a great team and were able to come back. We showed our character in the end and turned the game around one more time. What is most important is that the team won: it doesn't matter who played well. I felt good and tried to help my team, that's all. It is difficult to beat Madrid three times but we were able to beat them one more time."
DORSEY, JOEY
FC Barcelona Lassa
"It was a war tonight! There was a great atmosphere and always, going against Madrid, it is going to be a war. We came out in the first quarter and played great defense. Coach prepared us very well this whole week, getting ready for this game. We did all of our rules correctly and got a chance to win the game. Stratos was great in the final minutes but if I had made my free throws, we wouldn't have had to worry about anything! I have been working on free throws all week and have been good in practice. It was difficult. I am glad he got the ball and made all the free throws we needed to win the game."
RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"We didn't come out with the intensity we needed but managed to keep our chances until the end. We are the Euroleague champions and are aware of the responsibility it brings. It is very difficult to come back from so many points. They had some injured players but are a deep, talented team that knows how to play. We have to be positive and confident. We have to win our remaining games. We have an important, tough game against Olympiacos up next. We have to keep playing with the right mentality."
LLULL, SERGIO
Real Madrid
"We swam back and died on the shore. We had a very bad start and didn't play a good game in general terms. When this happens to you against a team like Barcelona on the road, you don't have many chances to win. We fought until the end but I believe that we lost the game with the start that we had. We didn't rebound well and free throws killed us in the end. We didn't live up to this game and they deserved to win. We showed character to return to the game, but we always must have it, and from the very beginning of the game. We have to aware of the jersey that we are wearing and character always needs to be there."
RIVERS, KC
Real Madrid
"We rallied and took the lead but got some bad breaks down the stretch, and they capitalized on it. They jumped out in the first quarter and we could not make a shot. They were making everything. A game like this, you cannot jump to conclusions after the first quarter. We stayed in the game, contained them and got back in it. We calmed it down and fought our way back in the second quarter. We really started to do something in the third quarter and got the lead throughout the fourth but made some minor mistakes down the end, gave them an opportunity and they capitalized. "