By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Milos Teodosic had 27 points, six rebounds and five assists while dominating down the stretch with key buckets and dimes as Virtus Bologna beat Unics Kazan 80 – 76 to take a 1-0 lead in the second EuroCup best-of-three semifinal series.
With five minutes to play and the score 64 – 64 after an Unics comeback from down 12, Teodosic made a tough layup and then dished out the assist to Giampaolo Rizzi for the 68 – 66. He then sent another assist, this time to Vince Hunter and scored back-to-back baskets for the 74 – 68.
After a triple by Teodosic, Jamar Smith made a 0 – 4 run to cut Unics’ deficit 75 – 72 with 1:25 remaining. Teodosic then responded with a 3-pointer and hit a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left, to more or less seal Bologna’s win.
Smith hit 22 points for Unics that erased a double-digit deficit to go up 58 – 59 early in the fourth period. It was the Russian team’s first lead after the start of the match since Bologna went on to control most of the game until the mid of the third period when the visiting squad began its comeback.
Unics went ahead 58 – 61 but couldn’t hold back Bologna afterward. Dimitris Priftis’ team will look to force a Game 3 Friday (9/4).
Marco Belinelli added 12 points for Virtus. John Holland and John Brown dropped 13 points apiece for Unics.