By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Thanks to an important offensive boost between the second and third quarter, Virtus Bologna had the upper hand in the Segafredo Arena against Baskonia, beating Joan Peñarroya’s team 88-83. They are now one victory away from the Basque opponents.
Awudu Abass, who recently came back from a long-time knee injury, was crucial for Virtus Bologna on defense, where he erased Maik-Kalev Kotsar with a monster block. He also had 10 points.
Marco Belinelli and Milos Teodosic sparked the black-and-white attack, combining for 32 points. Toko Shengelia, who was in Amsterdam on Thursday to play with the Georgian national team, had 12 points in 17:33 minutes on the court before flying to Tbilisi, where he will face Iceland on Sunday.
“Extremely proud of the game we played tonight. We had a very solid game from the beginning to the end, we were able to get back after some mistakes in a row. We were in control and we beat a very good team. A special mention to Abass, who one month ago wasn’t even a player and he did a great job on Howard, while knocking down a couple of threes”, Sergio Scariolo said after the victory.
Rokas Giedraitis was the best player on offense for the Basque side and ended the game with 25 points and 7 rebounds.
Daulton Hommes and Darius Thompson followed with 15 points each. Markus Howard only played 11:21 minutes but delivered 10 points.
“I think we played a good game, but in the last quarter, we weren’t enough. In the beginning, Virtus scored with confidence. There were little things we need to improve, and we didn’t have a good percentage in the last quarter”, Joan Peñarroya said in the post-game press conference.
Joan Peñarroya didn’t have both Tadas Sedekerskis, unavailable due to muscular discomfort in his left thigh, and Pierria Henry, who is unavailable until further notice. Sergio Scariolo didn’t have Isaia Cordinier, while Nico Mannion missed the game because he’s currently with the Italian national team.
In Round 26, Virtus Bologna (12-13) will travel to Istanbul to face Fenerbahce on March 3 at 18:45 CET. Later on, Baskonia (13-12) will host Valencia in one of their three Spanish derbies at 20:30.
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna