By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BOLOGNA, Italy – Losing in back-to-back fashion on the road against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Anadolu Efes, Virtus Bologna needed a response against ASVEL, the last team in this year’s EuroLeague standings. Recording 15 turnovers and shooting 28/67 from the field, they still got the 73-63 victory.
Daniel Hackett grabbed Virtus Bologna on his back to produce the comeback from being down 11 points, ending with an all-around performance of 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 7 fouls drawn. Marco Belinelli led the team in scoring with 18 points but had a very difficult shooting night (4/14 from beyond the arc).
The Italian team was without Toko Shengelia, Ognjen Dobric, and Devontae Cacok.
“We are very happy for this win the way we got it, responding as a team with great spirit through adversities, not making any external factor affect our belief. It’s another step to becoming conscious of our power, as a team and as a squad. An important fourth quarter, combining the quality of our choices and the personality”, Luca Banchi shared in the post-game press conference.
In what came out as a tough three-point night for both teams (Virtus Bologna 11/31, ASVEL 4/22), Pierric Poupet’s side seemed to have found superiority under the rim with Youssoupha Fall as the main protagonist, ending with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Paris Lee also had a double-double with 14 points, 12 assists, and 4 steals. DeShaun Thomas had his EuroLeague debut with the team by scoring 7 points.
“Their coaching staff did a great job coming back in the fourth quarter, they showed why they’re on top of the standings in the EuroLeague. My players did everything to stay, fight, and compete against Bologna. We’re on a good track and way”, the French head coach commented after the loss.
A rollercoaster of emotions and mistakes in Bologna
Both teams didn’t have a great start to the game three-point shooting-wise, combining for 3/18 from beyond the arc at the end of the first quarter (Virtus Bologna 2/11, ASVEL 1/7). In the last thirty seconds of the first quarter, first Mbaye Ndiaye had a huge block on Awudu Abass’ three-point attempt, and then DeShaun Thomas scored his first official EuroLeague points with the French team.
Despite that, the home side proved its superiority early in the game, entering the second up 19-10. Paris Lee brought ASVEL back within three points (22-19) with a non-contested three-pointer at 6:19 minutes on the clock. Mbaye Ndiaye, Youssoupha Fall, and DeShaun Thomas completed the job with 2:36 minutes left before halftime, giving ASVEL the first lead of the game at 26-24.
Trailing by five points (32-27) at halftime also due to an 11-0 run suffered in the late instants of the second quarter, Virtus Bologna seemed to be hopeless; the French team, instead, didn’t slow down and extended the lead to ten points (44-34) at 4:31 on the clock in the third. Jordan Mickey put Virtus Bologna back in contention (50-45) with four straight points at 1:41 to go.
However, ASVEL replied with a 4-0 run, going to the fourth quarter by leading 54-45. In the last ten minutes of the game, Virtus Bologna continued to struggle but managed to reduce the deficit to three points (56-53) with a clutch three-pointer from Iffe Lundberg at 6:40 to go. Daniel Hackett completed the comeback with five straight points following Achille Polonara’s block, while Marco Belinelli sealed the deal with one of his unbalanced three-pointers at 2:06 minutes on the clock.
In the EuroLeague Round 23, the black-and-white Italian team (15-7) will travel on the road to Istanbul once again, facing Fenerbahce on January 25 at 18:45 CET. ASVEL (4-18) will also play once again on the road, being hosted by Bayern Munich on the same day at 20:30 CET. Before the game, the whole Virtus Segafredo Arena dedicated a moment of silence to commemorate former EuroLeague player and Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, who tragically passed away at 46 years of age.
Before Virtus-ASVEL, an emotional moment of silence followed by applause in Bologna to commemorate Dejan Milojevic, who tragically passed away yesterday at 46 years of age. pic.twitter.com/Ejzra6v9ND
— Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) January 18, 2024
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna