Barça shipwreck against Gran Canaria in its debut in the Endesa League

Joventut also fell on their debut, while Baskonia and Valencia did meet expectations

MADRID, 30 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Barça lost (88-85) this Friday against Gran Canaria in the debut of the Endesa League, a defeat that leaves Sarunas Jaskivicius' men even more affected in their bad start to the season, in the same way that Joventut fell ( 76-81) against Bilbao Basket, while Baskonia and Valencia got off to a good start in the competition by beating Unicaja (103-89) and Real Betis (78-83).

The premises showed their claw of beginning and put in difficulties to the 'culés'. A duel without an apparent owner in the first set, in which Barça, still touched by the defeat in the Super Cup against Real Madrid, produced in the paint and Gran Canaria generated from Albicy, with 4 assists.

But the Gran Canaria team was able to turn off a Barça that was not very bright and lacked initiative. Thus, Olek Balcerowski was unleashed with 13 points and a PIR of 17 in a second quarter that left the match in a draw before the break (48-48). In the azulgranas, Sertac Sanli emerged as the offensive reference due to the lack of production in static.

Already in the second part, the script of the match continued along the same lines. Laprrovittola and Abrines gave wings to a Barça that took the lead, but the Gran Canaria was more effective. The equality was broken with a triple by John Shurna from the corner (86-82) one minute from the end.

Already in the decisive seconds, Jokubaitis wasted the last possession by stumbling and they were not able to overcome the difference of three points. Thus, the locals knew how to suffer to win (88-85) against a rival who had not beaten for five years.

In the case of Joventut, they also fell in their debut against Surne Bilbao Basket in Badalona. The 'Penya' was not inspired in attack and the tension remained until the last minutes with maximum equality between both teams.

But luck was on the side of the visitors. Adam Smith scored the decisive basket 30 seconds from the end to tip the balance in favor of the Basques. The 'Penya' continued to insist but neither Tomic nor Feliz were successful in being able to continue dreaming of victory (76-81).

Cazoo Baskonia took their roller for a walk in an impeccable debut (103-89) against Unicaja, unable to face a superiority that reached 25 points. The American Darius Thompson showed his quality in a stellar debut, with 20 points and 5 assists, revealing himself as one of the key men of the Alava team. An exhibition in capital letters in which six players scored in double figures.

Unicaja put the theoretical favorites on the ropes in the first ten minutes. Thus, the people of Malaga scored their first 12 field goals. A typesetter perfection that Baskonia was able to repeat (35-35), completely turning the game around with a 13-0 run driven by Markis Howard, with 15 points in 7 minutes. So with a

But Baskonia broke up the game early in the second half, with Thompson and Matt Costello's versatility hurting the visitors, who failed to pick up their heads. Despite the first victory of the season, the bad news for the hosts was Markus Howard's muscular discomfort, which made him withdraw from the game after scoring 15 points in 8 minutes.

For its part, Valencia Basket got off to a good start in the Endesa League by beating Coosur Real Betis (78-83). A victory marked by the good management of Chris Jones (17 points and a PIR of 19), while Papi Rivero punished the Betic area.

The 'taronja' team dominated the offensive rebound in a first quarter of power to power between both teams, although in the second quarter Valencia threatened to break the game with a partial 0-8, which served to reach its maximum of the afternoon ( 45-58).

Chris Jones (10 points) became the chief operating officer of a team with the score widely spread. On the other hand, Betis had a hard time keeping up with its rival's scoring rhythm to reap the first defeat in the League.