The irregularity of the first part of the season and the change of coach had a lot to do with the way the season panned out. However, AXA Barça raised their game and made it to the ACB Final and secured one of the main objectives, a Euroleague berth.
Fitness problems, like the recovery of Alex Acker and Mario Kasun’s heart troubles, and the
rescission of Dusko Ivanovic’s contract were turning points this season.
Without star man Juan Carlos Navarro, the new side for the 2007/08 season needed time,
especially for new players Alex Acker, Ersan Ilyasova and Pepe Sánchez to fit in and start
responding to expectations.
Bad times in the cup
The team simply wasn’t ready for the Copa del Rey, one of the main events of the year.
Although qualification had not been a s problematic as the previous season, AXA Barça were among
the leaders all the way, another meeting with Iurbentia Bilbao proved fatal. The Basques were the
surprise package of the season, and having already won the Supercopa they beat Barça again in the
quarter final.
One step away from Final Four
After putting the Copa del Rey behind them, next came the sacking of Dusko Ivanovic. But this
did not prove negative at all, but brought the team more together than ever. Now under the orders
of Xavier Pascual, formerly the assistant coach, Barça made the best of what they had and started
finding moments of explosive form.
One of these came in the playoffs to reach the Final Four.
Barça came frustratingly close to beating Maccabi in game one in Israel, but despite forcing a
third match at the Blaugrana, home court advantage tipped the balance in favour of Tel Aviv, who
went on to play in the Euroleague Final Four.
The best Barça of the season
The final stages of the ACB League showed that Barça had finally found their feet. The
players were ambitious and the coaching staff guided the squad through the playoff rounds, first
against Iurbentia Bilbao and then DKV Joventut. Barça were playing aggressive and dynamic
basketball, and got their just rewards with a place in the ACB Final, which was enough to secure
passage into the next season’s Euroleague.
Final slip
But they didn’t quite stay the distance. In the final, TAU were the better side from
game one, and Barça simply could not muster the kind of form they had produced in earlier matches.
Eventually the side from Vitoria swept the series 3-0.