After five months without playing, Puerto Rican point guard José Juan Barea finally felt the heat of the competition again.
However, Barea made his debut in Spain’s Liga ACB (Endesa) on Wednesday with a loss when his team Movistar Estudiantes fell 79-73 to Casademont Zaragoza at WiZink, Madrid.
The Mayaguez canastero had a cover letter of 14 points, three assists, two recoveries of the ball and three losses in 24 minutes.
???????? The best of JJ Barea’s debut in the ACB
???? @falta_tecnicahttps://t.co/eP8SREKYWE
– Cancha Latina (@_CanchaLatina_) February 3, 2021
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Barea got off to a slow start as expected after 162 days without playing, scoring two points in the first quarter. But as he warmed up, he showed that he still has basketball left by contributing eight points in the second quarter for Movistar to close the first half with a 40-39 advantage.
However, in the third quarter, there was little the Puerto Rican could do before a dizzying start by Casademont that left the collegiate team with a 10-point deficit (61-51) at the end of that quarter.
Movistar had a momentary reaction in the final minutes of the fourth quarter when it approached three points (74-71) with two minutes remaining on the clock. But the intention was not enough despite the 20 points and seven assists of the Serbian Aleksa Avramović.
Montenegrin Nemanja Đurišić added 12 points and Dominican Ángel Delgado added ten points with eight rebounds in a losing effort.
Movistar suffered its 12th loss in the competition with five wins. The team returned to the court after a month without playing due to an outbreak of Covid-19 that occurred in the team.
For Zaragoza, Jamaican Dylan Ennis scored 22 points and distributed three assists. German Robin Benzing and Icelander Tryggvi Snær Hlinason added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The team led by the manager of the Argentine national team, Sergio Hernández, added its fourth victory in the last five games. He improved his record to 8-13.
Barea and Estudiantes return to the court this Sunday, when they face Real Madrid in the Madrid derby. The game is scheduled for 1:30 pm (Puerto Rico time).
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