FC Barcelona extended its winning streak to three games after a commanding 92–71 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Round 4 of the EuroLeague at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on Tuesday night.
Head coach Joan Peñarroya made a surprising lineup change by inserting 18-year-old Sayon Keita into the starting five. The Malian center, making his EuroLeague debut, made an immediate impact by scoring his first points just 11 seconds into the game. He connected on a bounce pass from Tomas Satoransky and finished with a dunk that set the tone for Barcelona’s 0–8 opening run.
Toko Shengelia and Satoransky added back-to-back three-pointers to extend the early lead, and from that point on, Barcelona never trailed. By the end of the first quarter, the Spanish side was in complete control, leading 31–18. Keita impressed in his limited minutes, contributing 4 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal in 16 minutes of play, earning a performance index rating (PIR) of 7.
Barcelona’s dominance was clear early on. The Catalan club built a 32–60 halftime advantage, marking the second-largest halftime lead in its EuroLeague history. The team previously led Fenerbahce 50–19 in February 2013, while its 60 first-half points were one short of the club record of 61.
Willy Hernangómez led all scorers with 19 points and 7 rebounds in just 14 minutes, posting a PIR of 27. The Spanish center was highly efficient, converting 7 of 8 two-point attempts and hitting all five of his free throws.
Keita’s journey to this moment is remarkable. Born in Bamako, Mali, he was discovered by Mohamed Maiga, director of Serge Ibaka’s Dreams Academy. After joining the program in 2020, he moved to Spain and signed with Barcelona in 2023. Last season, he helped the club’s U18 team win the NextGen Belgrade tournament and starred in the NextGen Finals in Berlin, averaging 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds.
With the win, Barcelona improved to 3–1, while Maccabi dropped to 2–2. The Spanish powerhouse will travel next to face Dubai Basketball on Thursday, a matchup that features former Barcelona players Justin Anderson and Sertac Sanli. For Maccabi the next game is at home against Olympiacos.
