FIBA Basketball

    Abrines return sparks Barcelona

    BARCELONA (Liga Endesa/Euroleague) - Spain's rising star Alex Abrines has given Barcelona a lift they desperately needed since his return from a right foot injury. The 21-year-old, sidelined with a partial

    BARCELONA (Liga Endesa/Euroleague) - Spain's rising star Alex Abrines has given Barcelona a lift they desperately needed since his return from a right foot injury.

    The 21-year-old, sidelined with a partial tear of the plantar fasciitis since early December, made it back into the line-up to face Panathinaikos in the Euroleague Top 16 a few days ago and poured in 11 points to help Barca prevail, 80-76.

    That triumph snapped a three-game losing streak in all competitions for the Blaugrana.

    His impact was even more dramatic on Sunday in a Spanish Liga Endesa game against first-place Unicaja Malaga.

    With Barca trailing 99-96 and just 3.5 seconds from the end, Abrines caught an inbounds pass three and a half meters behind the arc, dribbled once and got a shot off that banked in to force overtime.

    ...

    The game-tying bucket sent the basketball world buzzing.

    In the extra period, France's Edwin Jackson, Brazil's Marcelo Huertas and Poland's Maciej Lampe all hit big three-pointers to help Barcelona win.

    When the game was over, Abrines had nailed four of his seven attempts from long range and scored 14 points.

    He was the player that everyone was talking about.

    With Juan Carlos Navarro hurt and out of action for the rest of January, the Catalans need Abrines' firepower.

    He admitted after the win over Panathinaikos that he was shaking off the rust.

    "It was not easy to play after coming off an injury, especially against such an uncomfortable opponent ..." he said.

    Abrines will suit up for Spain this summer when they compete at the EuroBasket.

    After that, who knows? 

    Oklahoma City own his draft rights.

    You'll be able to see him next on Thursday when Barcelona play in a Top 16 game at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

    FIBA