Dario Brizuela explains his tears after a win against Barcelona / News - Basketnews.com

Dario Brizuela's son was in intensive care last week. The player felt a huge relief after having one of the better performances of his life and knocking Barcelona out of Copa del Rey.

Credit: Aitor Arrizabalaga/ACB Photo Credit Aitor Arrizabalaga/ACB Photo

Dario Brizuela is the kind of player you would pay a ticket for. Talented. Unpredictable. He connects with the fans. I could imagine him at Rucker Park in New York, looking like the small white guy you don't expect too much from. Until he gets the ball.

Player of the Game EFF 27 Kendrick Perry Points 22 Accuracy 9-15 Rebounds 6 Assists 4

When this happens, basketball changes. Brizuela has the ability to transform everything with an incredible ability to find the basket and score. That's why he is called the Mamba Vasca (from the Basque Country).

Brizuela destroyed FC Barcelona in the Spanish Cup quarterfinals on Thursday night in Badalona.The last time Unicaja Malaga defeated Barca in a knockout game, Brizuela (1994) was not even born.

He ended the game with 27 points in just 24 minutes. He scored 13 points of his 27 during the fourth quarter and overtime. He was key for Unicaja to force overtime.

When Nikola Mirotic hit a three-pointer to put Barca ahead (83-81), Brizuela replied with another shot from beyond the arc. He was frenzied. The Blaugranas could not stop him. Neither Cory Higgins nor Jokas Jokubaitis. If there was a plan, Brizuela gutted it.

"He was incredible tonight. He always performs well against us," Barca's head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius said in the post-game press conference.

After the final buzzer, Brizuela could not avoid crying. Not only were they tears of joy but tears of relief as well. The Spanish guard revealed his son was in the intensive care last week.

"Last week, I had the worst days of my life... My son was in the intensive care. He is fine and he has already recovered. All the bad things that were bottled inside me have come out," Brizuela said to the tournament's broadcaster Movistar+.

"I had doubts if I should come here but my teammates helped me a lot. My family too," he added in the post-game conference.

Brizuela preferred to cover everything in the previous days. He gave interviews, he talked in mixed zones… But nothing came up in news.

Alberto Diaz praised Brizuela’s mentality.

"It has been a tough week for him. He is incredibly strong. He played awesome tonight. We are in the semifinals thanks to him, he was there the whole game. He deserves it," he said.

Unicaja's head coach Ibon Navarro also showed pride for his player.

"I'm really proud of how he has helped the team to beat Barcelona tonight. He is special," the specialist said.

Brizuela left the Olimpic de Badalona as the hero of the night. But the real game began last week in the hospital. And he is winning it.

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