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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
Barça found its composure where it needed it most: in Milan, against an Armani Olimpia team that never completely fell away. The Catalans won 89-81 on Thursday during the seventh round of the EuroLeague, maintaining the lead for most of the game without managing to put the result beyond doubt early on. It was a victory built patiently, then secured when Milan made its final push.
A Serious Start, Without Overexcitement
Joel Parra’s long-range shooting helped the visitors get their evening underway, but Olimpia quickly found ways to slow the game down and bring the score level.
Barcelona took control in the first quarter, winning it 23-21. Joel Parra’s long-range shooting helped the visitors get their evening underway, but Olimpia quickly found ways to slow the game down and bring the score level. Barça retained its lead at halftime, 44-40, without managing to turn its dominance into a comfortable margin.
That context gave the game a distinctive shape. The Catalans had the initiative, while Milan remained within striking distance. Every important possession therefore seemed to call for a response, sometimes from outside shooting, sometimes from a rebound or a drawn foul. Barça could not settle for one good spell: it had to keep producing clean sequences.
Punter and Gibson Close the Door
After halftime, the visitors created the most significant lead of the evening. Their offensive aggression and improved efficiency stretched the advantage to fourteen points, 66-52. Milan nevertheless refused to disappear and came back to 68-64 before a buzzer-beater from Myles Cale Gibson gave Barça some breathing room.
In the final quarter, Kevin Punter took over when the Catalan offense was looking for a clear solution. His five consecutive points pushed back the Milanese threat. Gibson, active at both ends of the court, then helped extend the lead to 83-69 with just over three minutes remaining. That cushion allowed Barça to control the end of the game despite the home side’s persistence.
Punter finished with 17 points, ahead of Tyrese Martin with 14, Gibson with 13 and Parra with 12. Willy Hernangómez Nebo added 11 points. For Milan, Shavon Shields Burnell scored 15 points, while Leandro Bolmaro and Darius Thompson each reached 12. The numbers tell the story of a collective success more than a one-man show.
A Response After the European Slip-Up
This fourth European win of the season comes at a useful time for Barcelona, which was beaten by Olympiacos in its previous EuroLeague outing. It also reinforces the idea championed by Aleksander Sekulic: his team can win by relying first on its defense and on a broad distribution of responsibility.
Milan kept its chances alive for a long time, but could not find the sequence that might have turned the balance of power. Barça therefore leaves Italy with a solid result and a more important signal than the final margin: in a rugged game, it knew how to stay calm when the contest tightened.
The schedule now takes the Catalans back to Liga Endesa and a home game against Casademont Zaragoza on Saturday. The challenge will be to sustain this discipline, rather than allow this Milan victory to become merely a neatly filed-away footnote in the standings.
