Barça play one of those matches this afternoon (8pm CET) motivating in one of the most unfavorable and complicated atmospheres in which a basketball player can find himself. Red Star will have a packed Belgrade Arena in one of the best matches that the Euroleague can offer today.
They meet in the Serbian capital a Red Star that reaches the 14th round of the European competition with the best balance of wins and losses (9-4), and a Barça that enters the event with one less win (8-5) than the Belgrade team, but with the intention of scoring one of those wins that are practically worth double, and more so against a direct rival.
Pascual, for his third consecutive victory
It won't be easy for the team of a Xavi Pascual who is directing his fourth game after his return, and who is looking for his third consecutive victory. The match against Anadolu Efes (74-73), but the team returned to winning ways in Europe last week after beat Asvel at the Palau by 88-78. Without that setback in Istanbul, Barça would be the leader, but there is little point in lamenting a defeat in a calendar so full of matches, in which the objective must be not to lose the trail of the teams with the best balance.
Xavi Pascual wants the entire team involved and the players already know that without effort there will be no minutes of play / FCB
“In the Euroleague you have to go game by game and not look too much at the classification. You have to try to be competitive every day and every time you have the opportunity to win, do it. There will be nights when we won't have the option, but when we have it we have to take it,” Pascual commented in the preview. The Gavà coach could not count on Darío Brizuela in the last session prior to the trip to Belgrade due to physical discomfort. and it will be a doubt until the last minute. In case it joins the already known casualties of Juan Núñez and Nico Laprovittola, Pascual called up Serbian Nikola Kusturica, who could make his debut in the Euroleague against his compatriots.
Red Star, the “fittest” team in the Euroleague
For Pascual, “Estrella Roja is probably the fittest team in the competition,” and reason is not lacking. At the beginning of the course, and with only two days of Euroleague played, the club dismissed Ioannis Sfairopoulos in a surprising decision that seemed hasty. The Greek had been important in making the squad for the current campaign, but in the offices of the Belgrade club it was decided to do without the Greek. In his position he arrived Sasa Obradovic, after leaving Monaco last season, and the truth is that the bet could not have gone better.
Sasa Obradovic, Red Star coach / EFE
After winning the first two games against Olimpia Milano and Bayern Munich, seven consecutive wins against rivals of the stature of Real Madrid or Panathinaikos, and a balance of 2-2 in the last four games, the last one ending with a victory against Olympiakos by 91-80. At home, Estrella Roja is one of the best venues with a great balance of seven wins and a single setback.
The dangers of Red Star
Much of Estrella Roja's good level is due to the great performance of Jordan Nwora. The American forward has fit perfectly into the team, and with his 19.4 points on average per game, is he third top scorer in the competition behind the 20.7 of Nadir Hifi and the 19.9 of Tim Luwa-Carbrot. In addition to Nwora, the former Baskonistas Chima Moneke (14,1) y Codi Miller-McIntyre (14,1) They are also contributing in the offensive field, while Nikola Kalinic He averages 7.5 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Chima Moneke is one of the Red Star references / EFE
The 'Serbian Hell' always impresses, but the truth is that Barça has done well in Belgrade in recent years. This season he already defeated Partisan by 76-78, while last season, the Barça team won at home by 94-98 thanks to an exhibition of Kevin Punter, author of 26 points and two transcendent triples that sealed the victory.
