By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BOLOGNA, Italy – Bayern Munich was only one of the five teams – with Zalgiris Kaunas, Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, and Valencia – that managed to beat Virtus Bologna in the first part of this year’s EuroLeague Regular Season. Entering 2024, the Italians found their revenge, winning 85-83 at home.
When things became difficult for Virtus Bologna, Tornike Shengelia stood up, trying to bring his team back in contention within a few points differential.
The former CSKA Moscow power forward ended the game with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Experiencing a tough night from three-point range, Marco Belinelli scored 16 points with only 2/7 from two and 2/8 from beyond the arc but was clutch in the final stretch of the encounter. Isaia Cordinier went close to a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds, while Daniel Hackett added 15 points and 5 assists.
Ante Zizic, who started the game from the bench and entered with 2:12 on the clock in the first quarter, didn’t have the best of debuts against the Bavarian team. He scored the first point – the only one of the night – of his new life in black and white with 8:47 to go in the fourth quarter, going 1/2 at the line.
“Both teams approached this second stage with a very solid performance, Bayern arrived here with a great focus. The good point for us is that after halftime we adjusted, forcing some mistakes. Offensively we changed the quality of our basketball, going at the free throw line with more continuity, playing with a more familiar flow for our style. Tonight was a matter of patience and continued to believe”, Luca Banchi commented after his team’s victory.
Putting on an individual show on the offensive end in the first half, Carsen Edwards couldn’t contribute in the second period, ending the game with a losing effort of 22 points with 7/8 from two-point range.
Serge Ibaka had a dominant double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, trying to keep Bayern afloat in the game, but he wasn’t enough to give his team another victory against Virtus Bologna. Andreas Obst, instead, had 12 points with 4/8 from beyond the arc, erupting in the second half.
“I think we played a pretty solid game on both ends, if you want to beat Virtus you have to work about play-by-play, which means every rebound and point. We have to get better to win this kind of game, Virtus looks for the right situations in the right moments. It’s called basketball: you have to put the ball in the basket, and we didn’t execute well at the end”, Pablo Laso shared after the loss.
Carsen Edwards’ early show, then Virtus Bologna
The first quarter didn’t see any of the two teams getting an early lead into the game, but the constant was Carsen Edwards’ layup shooting form and Daniel Hackett’s three-pointers, being 3/3 from beyond the arc in the first ten minutes. Bayern Munich entered the second quarter up 24-22 after Virtus Bologna reduced the deficit with Alessandro Pajola’s three-pointer on the final buzzer.
Serge Ibaka showed his dominance under the rim scoring Bayern’s first four points of the second, followed by Andreas Obst’s long three-pointer that forced Luca Banchi to an early timeout at 7:28. Iffe Lundberg scored seven points in a row to put his team back up front at 34-33. Carsen Edwards joined the convo once more, contributing in every point of his team before halftime, where Bayern led 46-42.
The former Fenerbahce guard didn’t cool down in the locker room, starting the second half with a deep three for his team’s seven-point lead – the highest thus far. Toko Shengelia’s spin move tried to keep Luca Banchi’s team afloat, bringing it down 54-50, but Pablo Laso’s team went ahead once more by nine points (62-53) thanks to Sylvain Francisco with 4:02 to go. The French guard was also helpful later in the quarter with a 2+1 play, but Marco Belinelli put Virtus Bologna down 69-65 to start the fourth.
Andreas Obst gave reasons for his elite sharpshooting status, bringing the German team away with an eight-point lead (74-66) with 7:54 minutes to go from beyond the arc. Pushed by a soldout crowd in Bologna, Virtus got back in contention with a 7-0 run (74-73) following an unsportsmanlike foul by Serge Ibaka; Marco Belinelli and Isaia Cordiner completed the job with back-to-back three-pointers and a putback dunk, putting Virtus ahead 81-79 with 3:04 minutes left. Iffe Lundberg sealed the deal with a long-two.
To complete the first EuroLeague double-game week, Bayern Munich will extend its road trip in Italy, visiting Olimpia Milano in Mediolanum Forum on 05/01 at 20:30 CET; Virtus Bologna, instead, will play against another German team, this time on the road, visiting ALBA Berlin on the same day at 19:00 CET.
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna