23.01.2011 21:28

Canaries curse dispelled (54-75)

Sònia de Alba

After five years of defeats. Regal Barça finally won a regular season game at Gran Canaria 2014. They got better as the game progressed, and the balance between defence and offence was perfect.

Regal Barça won at the Centre Insular de Deportes in a game in which they didn’t make the break until the second half. Navarro, with 23 points, led the scoring in a game in which Erazem Lorbek, Víctor Sada, Fran Vázquez and Ricky Rubio also excelled.

Carroll and Navarro

There was a heated ambience in the CID, where Jaycee Carroll immediately took the reigns and despite dome early flair from Navarro with a three pointer it was he and Taurean Green who combined to put the home side into early command.

Pascual sent on Víctor Sada, which proved a wise move as he quickly suppluied the first assist of the game to Ndong. His presence helped level the game on 21 each, but there was obvious room for improvement in the rebound game.

Three start flowing

Shortly before the break, Ricky bagged a three to put FCB ahead at last (23-24). With a 100% scoring rate for twos and 2/2 in threes, Rubio was enjoying a steller performance. But it was triple from Gran Canaria that kept the home side in it, and Navarro was forced to replicate that to make it 31-31 at the break.

The second half saw a reinvigorated Regal Barça come out stronger, and Ricky, Anderson and Fran Vázquez all contributed to a 0-10 streak that rendered the 17 points from Wallace ineffective.

It was then that Navarro came into his own, with a series of killer blows that subdued the previously confident islanders. Two trademark three pointers as good as put the game out of the home side’s grasp, with Erazem Lorbek also adding points as Barça sailed away.

Game over

Nothing the impressive Carroll andllace could do was going to narrow a gap that Lorbek extended to 21 points, Regal Barça eventually cruised it 54-75. The first win of the second half of the ACB season finally laid to rest a series of disappointing trips to the Canary Islands.