By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Tornike Shengelia will sign a multi-year contract with FC Barcelona after the end of the 2021-22 season, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere di Bologna.
Shengelia, 30, is set to become a free agent this summer. After leaving CSKA Moscow, he signed a contract with Virtus Segafredo Bologna for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, as previously reported by Eurohoops.
Coming off nine campaigns in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, the Georgian star is set to shift back to the 7DAYS EuroCup playing under experienced tactician Sergio Scariolo at Virtus Bologna. He last played in the second-tier competition of Euroleague Basketball making his way to four games for Valencia in 2008-09 and 2009-10 becoming a EuroCup champion in his second campaign.
He is a veteran of 199 EuroLeague games between Spirou Charleroi, Baskonia, and CSKA. He averaged 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds. 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game over 15 appearances this season. In addition to his 2021-22 showing, he logged 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per VTB United League contest before his stint with the team based in Moscow abruptly ended.
Carrying a 7-6 W-L tally, Virtus Bologna sits fifth in Group B of the EuroCup Regular Season at the arrival of the Georgian international. Following the double-legged round-robin schedule lasting 18 Rounds, the top eight teams of each group will advance to the next round and move into a single-game knockout format until the 2022 champion is determined.
Spending the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons in the NBA, Shengelia made his way to 45 games split between the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls. He was selected with the 54th overall pick of the 2012 draft by the Philadelphia 76ers before his rights were traded to the Nets.
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net