2011-12Top 16Round 5
February 23, 2012 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 PALADESIO

FC Barcelona Regal defeated Bennet Cantu 62-63

Group H game report: Bennet Cantu 62-63 FC Barcelona Regal FC Barcelona Regal advanced to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs by winning a tough battle at Bennet Cantu 62-63 to remain undefeated at 5-0 in the Top 16 Group H and eliminate Cantu. Barcelona came back from a 6-point fourth quarter deficit for the win, which also carried Maccabi Electra into the last eight. Boniface Ndong scored 13 points and all-time leading scorer Juan Carlos Navarro hit for 12 points, including the game-winning free throws with 26 seconds remaining for Barcelona. Erazem Lorbek chipped in 10 points and Xavier Rabaseda added 8 points. Cantu, which was playing without injured leader Vladimir Micov, dropped to 2-3 in the group despite 14 points and 8 rebounds from Giorgi Shermadini. Doron Perkins collected 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in his return from a serious knee injury in last season’s Playoffs. Greg Brunner chipped in 8 points and 7 rebounds off the bench for Cantu, which was hurt by making just 5 of 11 free throws compared to 16 of 21 for Barcelona.

Pete Mickeal opened the scoring for Barcelona with a steal and coast-to-coast lay-up which Gianluca Basile answered with a long jumper to make it 2-2. Barcelona went ahead 2-5 on Ndong’s jumper before Manuchar Markoishvili and Rabaseda swapped three-pointers and the guests were up 5-10 following Marcelinho Huertas’s driving lay-up on the break. Shermadini made two baskets to trim the gap to 9-10. Barcelona however scored six straight points on a Kosta Perovic dunk, a Victor Sada lay-in off the glass and a Navarro floater in the lane, causing Cantu coach Andrea Trinchieri to call a timeout with his team trailing 9-16. The host side stormed back with a 9-2 run with Maarten Leunen dunking after a steal and then nailing a three-pointer before Perkins hit a jumper following a steal to knot the game at 18-18 with his first points of the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season. Barcelona coach Xavi Pascual called a timeout but neither side scored the rest of the first quarter.

Fran Vazquez put Barcelona on the scoring sheet first to start the second quarter with a turnaround jumper and Perovic’s basket made it 18-22. Cantu could not find any offensive rhythm in the second quarter and did not score until Leunen’s inside basket with 5:50 left in the first half to trim the margin to 20-22. It was 21-22 after Andrea Cinciarini’s free throw before Vazquez threw down a dunk off a Huertas assist for a 21-24 advantage. Brunner got in front of the defense for a dunk and then Basile evened the game on two free throws to make it 25-25. And then Perkins nailed a jumper after another steal to give Cantu its first lead 27-25. Brunner’s energy kept Cantu up with an offensive rebound and put-back for a 29-26 advantage. Lorbek however answered with two foul shots and a jumper to give Barcelona the lead back 29-30. Shermadini’s jumper allowed the hosts to reclaim the lead 31-30 before Navarro made two free throws and then a wide open triple for a 31-35 Barcelona cushion. Perkins got into the lane and passed off to Brunner for an inside lay-up and a 33-35 halftime score.

Basile gave Cantu the lead to start the second half with a triple before Lorbek hit a tough inside shot and Ndong completed a three-point play for a 36-40 lead. Leunen put back an offensive rebound and Markoishvili put the hosts ahead 41-40 on a three-ball. But Cantu turned the ball over four straight possessions and Barcelona opened a 41-46 cushion on two Mickeal fast break scores and two Ndong free throws. Shermadini ended the drought with a dunk down the lane for a 43-46 score and Perkins tied the game 46-46 with a trey from the left side. And then Barcelona coach Pascual called a timeout after Shermadini’s hook shot for a 48-46 Cantu lead. Rabaseda hit his second three-ball of the night to put Barcelona back ahead but Shermadini gave Cantu the lead back 50-49. Ndong made one free throw to tie the game again and Rabaseda’s jumper had Barcelona ahead 50-52 after three quarters.

Cantu came up with a great start to the fourth quarter with three-pointers by Mazzarino and Perkins and then a Brunner dunk for a 58-52 lead and a timeout for Barcelona – which did not score until Navarro’s free throws with 7:07 remaining to make it 58-54. Ndong hit a tough basket inside and then dunked to even the game 58-58 with four minutes to play. Cantu could still not score as they settled for long range shots and Ndong’s free throw continued the run and Lorbek’s reverse lay-up completed the 0-9 run for a 58-61 run. Perkins stepped up and hit a lay-up to snap a 5:25 scoreless stretch and then Shermadini made two foul shots for a 62-61 Cantu lead with 40 seconds left. Navarro made two free throws with 26 seconds remaining for a 62-63 Barcelona lead before Basile’s potential game-winning jumper from the right baseline went off the front of the rim and out just before the final buzzer.

Thursday, February 23, 2012
Euroleague.net
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; PILOIDIS, ANASTASIOS
Attendance: 6289 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Bennet Cantu18151712
FC Barcelona Regal18171711
End of Quarter1234
Bennet Cantu18335062
FC Barcelona Regal18355263
Bennet Cantu
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
9 MARKOISHVILI, MANUCHAR 24:47 6 0/2 2/4   1 5 6     3   1 3 3 4
10 LEUNEN, MAARTEN 27:40 9 3/3 1/2   1 1 2 3 2       4   11
11 MARCONATO, DENIS 3:26   0/2       1 1     1     1   -3
12 MAZZARINO, NICOLAS 24:55 5 1/2 1/3     1 1 2 1       3 1 4
13 PERKINS, DORON 26:49 12 3/9 2/5 0/2 1 6 7 5 2 4     1 3 13
17 DIVIACH, MARCO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 SHERMADINI, GIORGI 32:11 14 6/10   2/3 1 7 8 1   2   1 4 8 19
20 CINCIARINI, ANDREA 17:55 1 0/2 0/2 1/2   1 1     1     1 1 -4
21 BOLZONELLA, FEDERICO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
22 ABASS, AWUDU DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 BRUNNER, GREG 16:43 8 4/7 0/1 0/2 4 3 7     1 1 1 2 1 7
55 BASILE, GIANLUCA 25:34 7 1/2 1/2 2/2   1 1 5   2     4 2 7
Team                                
Totals 200:00 62 18/39 7/19 5/11 8 26 34 16 5 14 1 3 23 19 58
        46.2% 36.8% 45.5%
Head coach: TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
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 Regal
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
8 SADA, VICTOR 15:22 4 2/4 0/1   2   2 1 1 2     4   -1
9 HUERTAS, MARCELINHO 24:38 2 1/3 0/1   1 2 3 3   2     2 1 2
11 NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS 32:06 12 1/3 1/5 7/8   1 1 4 1 1     1 8 17
13 PEROVIC, KOSTA 10:54 4 2/2       1 1     1     1   3
17 VAZQUEZ, FRAN 13:41 4 2/4     1 4 5   1   2   1 1 10
18 WALLACE, C.J. 3:23     0/2                       -2
20 INGLES, JOE 7:54   0/2 0/1           1       1 1 -2
21 NDONG, BONIFACE 21:38 13 4/6   5/7 2 3 5     1 1   3 4 15
22 RABASEDA, XAVIER 15:05 8 1/1 2/3     3 3 2   1     1 2 12
24 PEREZ, JOSEP DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 LORBEK, ERAZEM 30:24 10 3/7 0/2 4/6   6 6 2       1 2 5 12
33 MICKEAL, PETE 24:55 6 3/5 0/1     4 4 1 2 1     3 1 7
Team             3 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 63 19/37 3/16 16/21 6 27 33 13 6 10 3 1 19 23 75
        51.4% 18.8% 76.2%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI

Head Coaches

TRINCHIERI, ANDREA
Bennet Cantu
“We gave all we have on the court, in terms of energy, heart and intensity. We played the best game possible, and were eliminated in a cruel way, but that’s the risk you have when you play against such a big team like Barca. We had the last possession to win the game, but we did not make it. We'll have great memories and great emotions from this Euroleague season, and in the beginning I don’t think anybody thought we would arrive as close to the playoffs as we did.”
PASCUAL, XAVI
FC Barcelona Regal
“I would like to congratulate Bennet Cantu for the great season they played and for the very impressive spectacle their fans were able to see tonight. It was a typical Euroleague game, tough, played with great intensity, with both teams focused on winning it. Our last play on defense gave us the victory, and I'm very happy because we got a place in the playoffs and also clinched first place in the group, which is very important for the playoffs.”

Players

BRUNNER, GREG
Bennet Cantu
“It was a very tough game, we played intensely and with a lot of heart, and got very close to winning it. But they’ve got more experience than us playing this sort of game, and the little things made the difference in the end. I'm disappointed, but I think we put all our energy on the court, like our incredible fans did in the stands.”
NDONG, BONIFACE
FC Barcelona Regal
"It was tough. It is very hard to play here against Cantu. They played great defense. I tried to go hard. It wasn’t easy after losing in the Spanish King's Cup. The coach asked us to play hard. I was just trying to help my team."
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