Partizan and Barça face each other in the Stark Arena on the eighth day of Euroleague. The Blaugrana visit Belgrade after winning the first of the week's two duels against Olimpia Milan. A match that demanded a lot on a physical level, since it was decided in the last moments. Those from Peñarroya have the opportunity to achieve the first plenary session in a European double day.
It will be Jabari Parker's reunion with Barçaafter he left the team this summer and opted for a new stage in Serbia. The American is being one of the great figures of the team, although the last two games have not been very good in general. “I can't wait to see Jabari. It's going to be fun, he's my brother. He was here with us, so it's going to be fun and exciting,” Punter commented in the preview.
Punter himself will do the opposite, as he will return to what was his home for three seasons. “It will always be a special place. Everyone knows it. “It's like my home, I have a special connection with people, so it's going to be exciting.” The Stark Arena is known as one of the pavilions with the greatest atmosphere and pressure in Europemaking it 'hell' for the rival.
However, Barça's precedents in Belgrade are very good. The Blaugrana have not lost there since 2010 in the regular phase of the Euroleague, with Partizan itself, Red Star and the exiled Maccabi as victims. It is a track that they are good at and in which the environment seems to favor them to be activated and concentrated. “When you go to play on a court with this great atmosphere, like that of the Serbian teams, the player is already connected from the beginning,” said Peñarroya.
Jabari Parker, con Partizan / Euroleague
Those from Peñarroya arrive with better feelings than last week, when they fell resoundingly against Zalgiris. Since that tough defeat, two victories against Breogán and Olimpia Milano boost the morale of a team that, little by little, improves defensively. The Serbs have lost three of the last four games, although they have the new additions of Bruno Fernando and Nick Calathes.
New signings at Partizan
“We are talking about two contrasting players, a very athletic player, with a lot of power in the paint like Bruno Fernando, and a historic player in the competition like Nick Calatheswhich is a profile that they surely do not have, due to the conception of their exterior line. A different profile,” Peñarroya analyzed before the match. In addition to those named, Partizan also has with good exteriors like Sterling Brown or Duane Washington.
The culés want to continue with the good streak of victories in Serbia and win on one of the most complicated courts in the Euroleague. “I don't want to jinx it“, expressed Kevin Punter about the statistics there. Another victory away from home would boost the culés in the standings before a very special duel next Friday: the Classic at the Palau Blaugrana.
