Barcelona host Maccabi after squandering a ten-point lead: defeat to Žalgiris serves as warning ahead of another EuroLeague clash
Barcelona's basketball team will host Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in the fifth round of the EuroLeague, just four days after a defeat that raised serious questions about their ability to finish games. On Friday, October 9, Barcelona lost 81-88 to Lithuania's Žalgiris Kaunas at Palau Blaugrana, despite leading 65-55 after three quarters. The visitors won the final ten minutes 33-16, turning around a game that had long appeared to be going in the home side's favor. According to Barcelona's official schedule, the match against Maccabi will begin at 20:30 local time in Barcelona, while Aleksander Sekulić's team also have a home Spanish league fixture against Valencia on October 11 between the two EuroLeague encounters. The schedule therefore leaves little room for rest but gives Barcelona an opportunity to respond quickly in front of their own supporters.
The defeat to Žalgiris was not the result of sustained dominance by the visitors but rather a sudden collapse in the decisive period. Barcelona managed to seize the initiative during the second and third quarters, build a lead and enter the final ten minutes with an advantage that should have given them a degree of control over the game. Instead, they lost their offensive rhythm as Žalgiris began punishing defensive mistakes and hitting important outside shots. The manner in which the lead was lost is particularly significant ahead of Maccabi's visit: Barcelona must not only seek a better result but also prove they can maintain their level of play when their opponents increase the pressure. The season is still in the early stages of a long competition, but defeats of this kind can affect a team's confidence if the same problems keep recurring.
How Barcelona turned an early deficit into a 65-55 lead
Žalgiris made the better start to the October 9 encounter and took a 12-6 lead, although Justin Robinson quickly demonstrated with two three-pointers that he could become an important offensive option for Barcelona. The opening quarter ended with the visitors ahead 23-18, but the home team gradually took control of the tempo as the game progressed. According to FC Barcelona's report, Kevin Punter and Aleksander Balcerowski helped engineer the comeback, while a three-pointer from Tyrese Martin put Barcelona 31-25 ahead. Žalgiris managed to fight back, leaving Barcelona with only a two-point advantage, 41-39, at halftime. Nevertheless, the shift in momentum was evident: the hosts had found more ways to score and entered the second half with better offensive balance.
Barcelona extended their advantage further in the third quarter. Robinson continued to make shots, Stanley Umude contributed from beyond the arc, while Darío Brizuela and Josh Nebo helped the home side establish a ten-point lead. At the other end, Marius Grigonis and Jonas Valančiūnas kept Žalgiris in contention, preventing the gap from becoming a decisive advantage earlier in the game. The teams entered the final quarter with Barcelona leading 65-55 after winning the third period 24-16. This sequence of events further explains why the eventual outcome was especially painful for the home team: they did not simply lose touch with their opponents but surrendered a lead they had already established.
Žalgiris scored almost twice as many points in the final ten minutes
The final quarter completely transformed the game. Žalgiris accelerated their offensive production and scored 33 points, while Barcelona managed only 16. Carsen Edwards and Dustin Sleva were particularly effective in exploiting the space left by the home defenders, allowing the Lithuanian team to close the gap quickly and move ahead. At one important moment, the visitors led 76-72, which, according to Barcelona's official report, was part of a closing stretch in which the hosts could no longer find an effective response. Instead of protecting their advantage at the end of the third quarter, Barcelona lost by seven points, meaning the overall swing in the balance of the game during the final ten minutes amounted to as many as 17 points.
The statistics further demonstrate that the difference was not created solely by individual successful shots. According to BasketNews, Žalgiris finished the game with 36 rebounds compared with Barcelona's 26, while the assist count was 18-12 in favor of the visitors. The home team committed fewer turnovers, ten compared with Žalgiris' 16, but failed to convert that advantage into victory. The teams were also very close in overall field-goal accuracy: Barcelona converted 32 of 65 attempts, while Žalgiris made 29 of 58. This is precisely why the result highlights the importance of distributing successful offensive possessions across all forty minutes rather than focusing solely on the final shooting percentage. In the closing stages, the visitors succeeded where the home side increasingly struggled: they created open opportunities and converted them into points.
Robinson led Barcelona, while Edwards and Sleva made the difference for Žalgiris
Barcelona's leading scorer was Justin Robinson with 20 points, including four successful three-pointers from eight attempts. He played a crucial role during the periods when the home team fought its way back into the game or tried to maintain its advantage, but his individual efficiency was not enough to secure victory. Kevin Punter finished with nine points, significantly below his season average at that stage of 17.3 points per EuroLeague game, as listed in BasketNews' preview of the next encounter. Balcerowski and Brizuela scored seven points each, while Tyrese Martin and Stanley Umude contributed six apiece. Barcelona therefore had several different scorers, but in the decisive moments they could not establish an offense capable of stopping their opponents' surge.
For Žalgiris, Carsen Edwards led the scoring with 19 points and added seven assists, while Dustin Sleva contributed 14 points. Jonas Valančiūnas also made an important impact with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Marius Grigonis likewise finished with 12 points. According to Barcelona's official match report, the visitors' outside shooting and increasingly confident play in the final quarter ultimately decided the encounter. Žalgiris also demonstrated the depth of their offense, as they did not depend on a single scorer. For Barcelona, this serves as a warning that stopping one outstanding player is not enough against opponents with multiple offensive options.
There were also positive developments regarding the availability of players in the home squad. Josh Nebo returned after an absence and finished with four points and six rebounds, while Tosan Evbuomwan made his debut and scored eight points. Their participation gives Sekulić additional options under the basket during a schedule featuring several demanding games in a short period. At the same time, the return of individual players cannot by itself resolve the issues of collective defense, defensive rebounding and organizing offense under pressure. The encounter against Maccabi will provide another opportunity to see how quickly Barcelona can integrate these additional options into a more consistent team performance.
Sekulić warns of lost concentration and confidence after defeat
Barcelona coach Aleksander Sekulić did not attempt to downplay the significance of the final ten minutes after the game. As reported by the EFE news agency, he emphasized that the team had followed its game plan for much of the encounter but failed to respond appropriately to the change in tempo during the fourth quarter. He particularly highlighted the fact that Barcelona allowed the visitors' leading scorer, Edwards, to find good shooting positions. He also spoke about a decline in confidence, nervousness, and mistakes in defense and rebounding that Žalgiris knew how to exploit. In his assessment, Barcelona are still in the process of developing team cohesion and must find a way to maintain their concentration throughout the entire game.
Those comments provide additional context to the defeat because they distinguish between the tactical plan and its execution. Barcelona demonstrated in the third quarter that they could organize both their defense and offense effectively against Žalgiris, but they failed to sustain that quality once the score began to change. Against Maccabi, it will be important to see whether the hosts can respond to their opponents' scoring runs without prolonged periods of offensive inefficiency. Defensive communication, timely assumption of responsibility and securing rebounds after missed shots will be equally important. These are precisely the areas that generally reveal the difference between a team that occasionally plays well and one that maintains control of the score until the final buzzer.
Maccabi arrive after their first EuroLeague victory of the season
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv travel to Barcelona with a different recent experience. The Israeli club recorded one victory and three defeats in the opening four EuroLeague rounds but beat Olimpia Milano 97-79 on October 8. They had previously lost to ASVEL 74-84, Beşiktaş 93-109 and Panathinaikos 67-90, as confirmed by the published results from the opening rounds. The victory over the Milan team is therefore significant ahead of the visit to Palau Blaugrana: Maccabi arrive after a game in which they finally managed to translate offensive efficiency into a convincing result. Although their 1-3 record is worse than Barcelona's 2-2, their most recent performance makes it impossible to regard the visitors as easy opponents.
The team is coached by Oded Kattash, who extended his contract with the club for another three years in April 2026, according to Maccabi's official announcement. He is a coach who understands the demands of a EuroLeague season and whose system distributes important responsibilities between perimeter and interior players. According to BasketNews' figures ahead of the fifth round, Roman Sorkin averaged 11.8 points in the opening games, while Yam Madar provided 5.5 assists per encounter. Oshae Brissett was among the team's leading rebounders with an average of 4.3 rebounds. These figures indicate where Barcelona must pay particular attention to the interaction between opposing players, although performance in an individual game cannot be predicted solely from season averages.
For Maccabi, the games in Barcelona and then away to Valencia on October 15 form part of a demanding week featuring a EuroLeague double round. This means the visitors must also manage their energy and find reliable solutions within their rotation. The victory over Olimpia has provided encouragement, but one result does not erase the previous three defeats. Barcelona, meanwhile, may look to impose an energetic start and take advantage of familiar surroundings, provided they avoid repeating the major fluctuations seen against Žalgiris. Given these circumstances, it is difficult to make a reliable prediction about the winner based solely on the current standings.
Perimeter defense and rebounding emerge as key issues for the next encounter
Although Žalgiris and Maccabi are not teams with identical characteristics, the October 9 encounter exposed problems Barcelona must address regardless of their opponents. When an opposing team creates open shots from the perimeter, the hosts must choose between applying more aggressive pressure on the ball and protecting the area beneath the basket. If they lose their rebounding balance in the process, even well-defended possessions can end with an additional opportunity for their opponents. The ten-rebound advantage enjoyed by Žalgiris is therefore far from an insignificant statistic. It provides an important starting point for preparing for the next EuroLeague test, particularly because Maccabi have players capable of connecting interior play with perimeter offense.
Equally important will be what Barcelona receive from their main perimeter players. Robinson made a substantial offensive contribution against Žalgiris, but he cannot be expected to compensate for the weaker performances of others single-handedly every evening. Punter's season average so far demonstrates how important his offensive involvement is, while Nebo's return and Evbuomwan's introduction into the rotation provide additional options for alternating between perimeter and interior play. If Barcelona distribute responsibility more effectively, they will be better equipped to respond when Maccabi interrupt one of their scoring runs. This is probably more important than simply trying to play the opening minutes of the game at maximum tempo.
Three home EuroLeague games in eight days, alongside Spanish league commitments
Barcelona's October schedule further emphasizes the importance of consistency. According to the club's official calendar, the encounter against Žalgiris and the domestic league game against Valencia on October 11 are followed by the EuroLeague meeting with Maccabi on Tuesday, October 13, at 20:30. On Friday, October 16, Olympiacos will visit the same court, also at 20:30 local time in Spain. An away game against Joventut in Badalona in the domestic league then follows on October 18. A series of games with very little time between them places physical recovery, squad rotation and the coach's ability to identify a few essential adjustments during preparation at the forefront.
After four EuroLeague rounds, Barcelona and Žalgiris both have 2-2 records, while Maccabi enter the fifth round at 1-3. For now, it is too early to regard these figures as a decisive reflection of the season: under the competition format confirmed by the EuroLeague, the regular season features 20 clubs, each playing 38 games. The top six teams at the end of the league phase will qualify directly for the playoffs, while those finishing seventh through tenth will compete for the remaining two places through additional qualification games. Nevertheless, every missed opportunity to win at home increases the need for strong results later in the schedule. This is precisely why Barcelona face Maccabi not only seeking another victory but also an opportunity to respond more convincingly to the weaknesses exposed against Žalgiris.
The Barcelona-Maccabi game is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona, with tip-off at 20:30 local time. It will be their fifth-round EuroLeague encounter and the second of three consecutive home EuroLeague appearances for Barcelona during this part of the calendar. Following the dramatic defeat to Žalgiris, the hosts have a clear sporting objective: to turn periods of good play into a performance that lasts the full forty minutes. Maccabi, meanwhile, travel to Catalonia encouraged by their first EuroLeague victory of the season. Whether Barcelona can respond after their defeat will become clear in a contest where discipline, rebounding and reactions to shifts in momentum will be particularly important alongside offensive quality.
Sources:
- FC Barcelona – official report on the Barcelona – Žalgiris game, the result, the course of the encounter and individual player performances (link)
- FC Barcelona – official basketball team fixture schedule for October 2026 (link)
- BasketNews – Barcelona – Žalgiris game statistics, individual performances and team indicators (link)
- BasketNews – preview of Barcelona – Maccabi, initial records and player season statistics (link)
- EFE / Infobae – comments by coach Aleksander Sekulić following the defeat to Žalgiris (link)
- Maccabi Tel Aviv – official announcement of coach Oded Kattash's contract extension (link)
- BasketNews – results from the opening EuroLeague rounds of the 2026/2027 season (link)
- EuroLeague – decisions on the competition format and the participation of 20 clubs in the 2026/2027 season (link)