By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BOLOGNA, Italy – Coming off a difficult defeat to digest against Valencia at home, Olympiacos needed to respond well in a tough environment like Virtus Bologna’s home court.
After forty minutes of war on both ends, however, this wasn’t the case, as the former red-and-white player Daniel Hackett condemned the Greeks late in the game. Virtus Bologna is now second in the EuroLeague with an 11-4 record after beating Olympiacos 69-67, being down by 13 points during the game.
The 36-year-old Italian playmaker ended the game with the two-pointer to win it all and received a charging foul from Thomas Walkup, sealing the deal with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Isaia Cordinier had a powerful start and continued to get things going as time passed by, going home with 13 points. Ognjen Dobric, instead, banked in two crucial three-pointers in the fourth to end with 10 points.
“Special effort in front of one of the most powerful teams in the EuroLeague. We had a late response, but we responded. In the second half different bodies, different faces, different effort. In the final minutes, we found the sharp solution to have such an important win. In such difficult moments, in such a difficult game, my players found the resources to flip the game and have another very prestigious win”, Luca Banchi shared after the victory.
The twin towers at Georgios Bartzokas’ disposal had a huge contribution to the red-and-white success, making Bryant Dunston’s night one to mostly forget. Both ending the game in double-digits, Nikola Milutinov had a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards, while Moustapha Fall added 12 points. Coming out strong in the second half, Giannoulis Larentzakis had 13 points and 3/6 from three but missed the decisive one to end it all.
Bartzokas: “Every doubtful call was against us”
“We had bad decisions, but I have to see again the fourth quarter, every call was against us, every doubtful call was against us”, said coach Giorgos Bartzokas in the flash interview just after the final buzzer.
A bit later and much calmer in the press conference, he added: “They fought until the last possession, they played really well having good decisions. In the second half, we missed a lot of open threes with great shooters. From this situation, Virtus gained confidence and got back into the game. We needed something more, mentally, physically and spiritually. We need to analyze how we can lose a game after controlling it for forty minutes”.
Olympiacos started things off strong, getting an early eight-point lead (6-0), but Isaia Cordinier responded with a four-point play at 8:09 on the clock. With a Vezenkovesque two-pointer by Alec Peters, the red-and-white team went up 12-4 at 5:22. Despite ending the first quarter scoreless from beyond the arc (0/8), the Greeks entered the second quarter up 19-17 after Iffe Lundberg converted the 2+1 play.
Beginning the second quarter with Oly’s eight-point run to extend the lead to 27-17, Virtus Bologna closed it with Alessandro Pajola’s three-pointer at 7:07 on the clock but kept struggling on offense. Luca Banchi called timeout with 3:38 to go before halftime to try to stop the Greek team’s force when the black-and-white side was trailing by 13 points (35-22). The second quarter with Oly up 40-28.
Entering the second half on a high note, Virtus Bologna reduced the deficit all the way to six points (43-37) following Devontae Cacok’s exploding 2+1 dunk with 7:17 on the clock in the third. The third quarter was all about balance, as the Italian team continued to get closer and closer to the reigning Final Four runner-up, but Olympiacos got back up by eight points (55-47) to enter the fourth.
Just like the previous quarter, Virtus Bologna found a way to put Olympiacos in trouble, getting down by four points (57-53) following Ognjen Dobric’s two-pointer in transition at 7:29 to go. Later on with 5:24 minutes on the clock, the Serbian shooter had other crucial plays, being clutch from deep to make his team trailing by two (62-60) and putting it ahead at 67-65. Daniel Hackett had veteran plays in the last minute, finally giving Virtus Bologna the win.
After the loss on Italian soil, to complete the double-game week before Christmas, Olympiacos (7-8) will prolong its on-the-road trip by visiting ASVEL on December 22 at 19:45 CET. Virtus Bologna (11-4) will also travel, playing the previous day at 20:30 CET in Valencia.
Photo Credit: Virtus Segafredo Bologna