Joventut Stuns Barcelona 84-72 as Jabari Parker Celebrates Birthday
Joventut dominates Catalan derby
Joventut picked up a convincing 84-72 win over Barcelona in the Liga Endesa, a result that turned heads in the Catalan derby.
Barcelona were missing key contributors — Nicolás Laprovittola remains out until mid-June and Toko Shengelia sat this one out with a calf issue — leaving Xavi Pascual to cope with a shortened rotation against a determined Joventut side.
The visitors started strongly, using crisp ball movement and efficient shooting to take control. Ricky Rubio orchestrated the offense with smart playmaking, while Ante Tomic punished Barcelona close to the rim. Jabari Parker, celebrating his 31st birthday, added energy and timely scoring against his former team, much to the delight of the Badalona crowd.
Leading the way for Joventut were Cameron Hunt and Ricky Rubio with 17 points each; Rubio also dished out four assists. Ante Tomic finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Parker contributed seven points and seven rebounds. For Barcelona, Joel Parra led the scorers with 19 points and Eill Clyburn added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Standings and what’s next
The defeat was Barcelona’s seventh of the season; they sit third with 15 wins, level with Murcia and Unicaja. Joventut sits one win behind in seventh, keeping the race for a top-four spot tight as the standings compress.
Up next, Barcelona travel to Valencia in Round 32 of the EuroLeague before hosting Real Madrid in the Liga Endesa El Clásico the following weekend. Joventut also have a European fixture next week against Unicaja.
After the game, Parker celebrated his birthday with the home crowd — a warm moment that rounded off a strong team performance.
