Dubai: Barcelona coach Xavi Pardina lauded his young brigade after the Catalans had fought their way to a last-gasp 72-70 win over Sharjah Club to lift the inaugural Dubai International Junior Basketball at the American University in Dubai (AUD) last Monday.
Having played a bruising 85-82 semi-final win over pre-tournament favourites Partizan Belgrade earlier in the morning, Barcelona maintained their composure before a physically stronger opponent to eventually help themselves to the title.
Barcelona chased Sharjah throughout the encounter trailing 10-15, 27-35 and 48-52 at the end of the first three quarters. But in the final period the Catalans played to a plan taking the lead for the first time in the match at 60-58 with 4.30 minutes remaining. They defended well and with 1.12 minutes left, Pau Carreno sank a three-pointer for a four-point cushion at 68-64.
However, Abdullah Mohammad came off the bench and found the basket while drawing in a charity to narrow the difference to one point with 19.2 seconds left on the clock. Antoni Liria drove both his tries from the line to make it 70-67 in favour of Barcelona, only to see Sharjah once again being kept in the game by Mohammad’s three-point from a very tight angle, and only 8.9 seconds remaining. But it was Issac Mayo who drove in from under the basket as Barcelona celebrated yet another tough win in one day.
“These boys played like adults. All other teams in this competition were older to us, but Barcelona showed what they are capable of by fighting till the very end to win this tournament for the first time,” Pardina told Gulf News.
Competition rules stipulated that those born in 2,000 were eligible to play in the tournament. While all other teams stuck to the age category, Barcelona had made the trip with their under-15 side to give them the experience of playing against better-equipped players. “And today these players showed what they are made of. We are very excited with what we have achieved here, not just with the trophy, but with the positive experience of playing and winning against physically stronger opponents,” Pardina related.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Barcelona had stunned high-flying Partizan Belgrade 85-82 in another exciting match, while Sharjah had got past Al Nasr 69-56. “This has been a positive experience for the team,” Partizan Belgrade coach Dorde Varagic related.
“Not only did we experience varying styles from this place, we were able to play a strong team like Barcelona. That was a match [semi-finals] we should have won, but we made too many mistakes towards the end,” he rued.
“We will more than happy to return next year and have a crack at the title,” Varagic added.
Al Nasr helped themselves to a 102-93 win over Partizan Belgrade to claim third place in the competition. Ali Omar, Director, Sports Development Department, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) was joined by Ahmad Salem Al Muhairi, Tournament Director in presenting the trophies and medals to the winners after the final.
