FC Barcelona beat PPD Zagreb 43-21, head to Final Four
Barca show their dedication, attitude and play to stamp their ticket to the Final Four in Cologne On 30 and 31 May, Xavi Pascual's squad play their fifth Final Four in the last six years
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Former FC Barcelona player and current Zagreb coach Veselin Vujovic was forced to call two timeouts in the first eleven minutes as Xavi Pascual's men went up 9-3 in the early stages of the game. The visitors tried everything but could not succeeded in stopping Barça, up 12-5 at the end of the first period. And they did not take their foot off the accelerator, widening the difference to 23–10 at the half.
The Palau Blaugrana was the scene of a party in the second half. Jesper Noddesbo scored to make it 32–14 on 42 minutes. Kiril Lazarov followed with three straight goals to run it to 39–18. Xavi Pascual then emptied his bench but the team's intensity didn't budge. The final minute at the Palau Blaugrana turned into a standing ovation as the fans cheered the efforts of the whole team, once again headed to the Final Four of Europe's top competition.
FC Barcelona: 43
PPD Zagreb: 21
FC Barcelona: De Vargas (-), Víctor Tomás (6), Entrerríos (3), Sorhaindo (1), Gurbindo (2), Sigurdsson (5) and Karabatic (7) –starting seven–, Noddesbo (2), Sarmiento (1), Saric (-), Ariño (2), Rutenka (3), Viran Morros (1), Saubich (-), Jallouz (1), Lazarov (9)
PPD Zagreb: Brozovic (2), Stepancic (2), Celica (1), Sprem (-), Ivic (-), Horvat (3), T. Valcic (-) –starting seven–, Stevanovic (-), Coric (-), Sebetic (2), J. Valcic (-), Obranovic (4), Vuglac (-), Kovaceciv (4), Pavlovic (2)
Referees: Lars Geipel and Marcus Helbig
Score at five-minute intervals: 4-1 / 8-3 / 12-5 / 15-8 / 19-9 / 23–10 (halftime) 27-12 / 29-14 / 33-16 / 38-17 / 41-19 / 43-21