Joan Peñarroya: In the first half, we played soft on defense

After the defeat against Zalgiris in Kaunas, Barcelona’s coach Joan Peñarroya pointed out the defensive problems his team faced during certain phases of the game.

“In the first half, we played soft on defense, and Zalgiris scored easily with central pick-and-rolls and verticality,” said Peñarroya. “In the third quarter, we improved our defense and played with a different energy, closer to what we want. In the final quarter, though, we missed some three-pointers, and Francisco played a great stretch, scoring 15 points,” he added.

When asked about Sylvain Francisco, Peñarroya was full of praise: “Francisco is a special player, he’s good in late-game situations, and he can make step-back threes like he did today.”