Barcelona outguns Marc Gasol's Girona to advance to Catalan League final / News - Basketnews.com

FC Barcelona beat Girona Basquet 88-77 in the Catalan League semifinal behind a strong performance from Rokas Jokubaitis (12 PTS, 8 AST).

Credit: Federació Catalana de Basquetbol Credit Federació Catalana de Basquetbol

FC Barcelona played their first official game of the season in the Catalan League against Girona Basquet, beating the opponents 88-77 (22-16, 23-21, 21-22, 22-18).

Barcelona started the game better with Rokas Jokubaitis dishing out 5 assists during the first quarter on the way to taking a 6-point lead (22-16). The EuroLeague powerhouse continued to hold a similar advantage throughout the second quarter and the teams went to the locker room separated by 8 at halftime (45-37).

"Well, it's our first match, we're playing with good energy and we've done good things in this first half," Tomas Satoransky commented after 20 minutes.

With the start of the second half, Girona started shaving off the deficit possession by possession and already tied the game with just a few minutes of the third quarter in (45-45), forcing Sarunas Jasikevicius to call a timeout.

Although Barca's lead sat at only a single point with 3 minutes remaining in the third, Saras' squad finished the quarter better and held a 7-point lead heading into the fourth quarter (66-59).

Barcelona started the final 10 minutes with a decisive 10-2 run and Girona couldn't recover ever since.

Barca made 14 three-pointers out of 35 (40%), while Girona shot at only 30% (7/23).

Although he wasn't the top scorer, Rokas Jokubaitis lead Barcelona with 12 points and 8 assists. Tomas Satoransky scored 13 points, while Jan Vesely and Mike Tobey each contributed with 10.

Dusan Miletic led Girona with 25 points. Marc Gasol, meanwhile, scored 6.

Barcelona will play against Joventut Badalona in the final, who beat BAXI Manresa in the semifinal earlier in the day.

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