With a 31-point fourth quarter explosion, sustained by another defensive masterpiece (12 points allowed in the final period), Olimpia came back and won 83-70 against the previously undefeated FC Barcelona. Olimpia overcame once more a tough start, a 30-point first half effort, stayed in the game with a lot of pride, scrappy plays, defensive focus and finally took over in the fourth quarter when the offense was simply outstanding. Luis Scola had some terrific plays, including an offensive rebound converted and a three-point play off a half-court steal. He led the way, then Amedeo Della Valle came in and scored eight straight points. Olimpia took the lead and never looked back. When Nikola Mirotic with a three cut the lead at four, Sergio Rodriguez made a three, then couldn’t stop himself and the margin was bigger than expected at the end. It was Olimpia’s fifth consecutive win. “In the first half, we struggled against their excellent defense – Coach Ettore Messina said – We couldn’t take any advantages and we couldn’t use those advantages. The second half was way better, we moved the ball, we had 10 assists, we took control of the tempo, which is essential against a team like Barcelona. I’m happy because we got a little bit from everybody, Della Valle couldn’t play much because Barcelona used a big line-up, featuring Claver at the 3-spot, for most of the game, but when they went smaller, it was his turn and he was ready. Besides, this team has a lot of grit: it wasn’t easy to stay in the game, cut the leads to four, two, three, many times. We didn’t get depressed.”. Olimpia won before a capacity-crowd of 12.219. “They were great, not just because they filled the arena, but they stayed positive during the hard times, our people transmitted confidence and I’m happy that the team gave something back to them,” Messina said. Sergio Rodriguez finished with 17 points and seven assists, Olimpia at the end went 14-for-28 for three, Luis Scola added nine rebounds to his 14 points, while Vlado Micov added eight boards and three assists to his 16-point effort.