Barcelona uses defense to down Stellazzurra

U18 FC Barcelona flashed some stifling defense as he opened its Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals with a convincing 51-75 victory over U18 Stellazzurra Rome. The 2016 champion Barcelona started the second half with a 5-18 run to take control of the Group B game and never let Stellazzurra challenge the rest of the way. James Nnaji collected 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks for the winners while Gael Bonilla had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Caicedo added 11 points and 8 rebounds. Barcelona turned the ball over 24 times and hit just 51.5% from the free throw line, but the Spanish side blocked 10 shots, won the rebound battle 52-35 and held Stellazzurra to 29.6% on 2-pointers and 17.4% on three-pointers - in addition to just 38.9% on free throws. Fabrizio Pugliatti was the only Stellazzurra player in double figures with 11 points.

Pugliatti hit a three-pointer to start the game and Bonilla answered from long range. Inaki Ordonez also hit a triple as Barcelona pulled away for the first time with a 1-11 run for a 6-14 lead. Kevin Ndzie converted an and-one for Stellazzurra in helping get within 15-17 before Bonilla drained another triple at the buzzer for a 15-20 gap after 10 minutes. Barcelona stepped up its defense in the second quarter, holding Stellazzurra to just two points in the first 5 minutes while Ian Granja hit two triples in building a 17-31 cushion. The margin grew to 16 points - 20-36 - before Stellazzurra picked up six straight points and was down 28-36 at intermission.

The Barcelona onslaught continued in the second half with the first seven points for a 28-43 lead. Nnaji was a force at both ends and helped extend it to 33-50 as Stellazzurra just could not score consistently. After pushing it to 35-56, Barcelona was up 40-56 after 30 minutes. Stellazzurra tried to threaten with five straight points to make it 45-58 early in the fourth quarter. But Barcelona followed with a 0-9 run to put the game out of reach for good with a 45-67 lead.