Barcelona’s overwhelming defeat against Panathinaikos (79-93) left Xavi Pascual with doubts about his future in the team for next season. “At the end of the course there will be time to evaluate, to think, to see where we are, to see where we will be… and to see if we are there,” he said. Asked about that last phrase, the Barça coach was clear and forceful: “I said exactly what I wanted to say.”
Pascual returned to Barcelona as a hero trying to save the team of his loves, which was going through a very delicate moment after two seasons without titles and aiming for a third with Joan Peñarroya on the bench. First the interim Óscar Orellana and then he lifted the spirits of the group, but injuries and the lack of reinforcements have caused the team to sink again.
The hard core of the team is veteran: Laprovittola, Punter, Clyburn, Satoransky, Shengelia, Vesely… They are not able to keep up with the pace of a season that could go close to 90 games. And the club is not making an effort to alleviate the physical problems with signings, something they promised Pascual.
After the defeat against Panathinaikos at the Palau and losing the basketball average, the coach considered that both he and his players should “forget this Tuesday’s match as soon as possible.” “It is clear that it is a match that we have to forget as soon as possible. They have been much superior to us in all facets of the game and we have to recover and think about the next thing,” Pascual declared at the conclusion of the match.
The Catalan coach admitted that the situation the team is going through “is not easy”, plagued by casualties and with a short squad, especially to combine the Euroleague and the Endesa League, but he pointed out that it cannot serve as an excuse to let go when the rival appears so superior.
“We should have given a little more today. When they took a little advantage from us, we gave up and we were without character. And this team, with confidence, is unstoppable,” he commented, referring to Panathinaikos, which had come to dominate by 31 points at the end of the third quarter.
“And we already have the experience that, in this type of matches, once they take this advantage, you no longer have anything to do,” lamented the Barça coach, who will now play Monaco, which he visits next Friday, and Red Star their chances of qualifying for the ‘play in’.
