By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BOLOGNA, Italy – Sometimes, you can’t always fully celebrate, even in good feeling evenings. That’s the case for Virtus Bologna, who will probably not have the time to think much about beating Valencia 87-74 in the EuroLeague Round 27.
Heading to the most decisive part of the season both domestically and continentally, you need all the best weapons at your disposal to be completely competitive. After going straight to the locker rooms with a potential right ankle injury, though, Tornike Shengelia could be on the sideline for quite some time.
Leaving the court at 3:45 minutes in the first quarter, Virtus Bologna was without its Georgian leader for the vast majority of the encounter against the Spanish club. However, Luca Banchi’s team still found a way to make the soldout crowd in Bologna witness another EuroLeague win.
Displaying a scoring effort with 16 points (6/6 FT), the black-and-white captain Marco Belinelli led his team. Coming back from the FIBA window with France, Isaia Cordinier had a solid 12-point night. Jordan Mickey, instead, went close to a double-double with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
“Very tough game, as we expected. Valencia is a very aggressive and physical game, we had question marks due to lack of preparation but I believe our team responded great through adversities, we had a common effort. We lost by eight points in Valencia, we now have the tie-break”, Luca Banchi said.
On the losing end, instead, Chris Jones was the clear scoring leader of the whole match with 20 points. The former Milano duo composed of Brandon Davies and Kevin Pangos, who celebrated last year’s Italian championship over Virtus Bologna, combined for 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists.
“We didn’t find our rhythm in the second quarter, they scored easily. In the third we made an effort to come back, trying to be closer. We tried to come back in the game but it wasn’t possible, it’s was a difficult game for us and for Virtus: we’re not ready yet after the national team break”, Alex Mumbru commented in the post-game press conference.
Everybody’s worried in Bologna for Toko Shengelia
Trailing for the first half of the opening quarter, Virtus Bologna found some space to breathe at 4:17 with Daniel Hackett from deep, leading 12-11. Some seconds later, Tornike Shengelia was forced to head to the locker rooms with a possible ankle injury, and Valencia entered a 9-0 scoring run.
Jordan Mickey’s block on Nate Reuvers and Iffe Lundberg’s layup brought the hosts back late in contention, closing the first down by two (20-18). Concluding in traffic, Alessandro Pajola tied things up at 25-25 with 7:17 on the clock in the second. Marco Belinelli gave Virtus Bologna’s the biggest lead of the night at 41-32 coming off the screens from deep at 1:14 before halftime, extending it later on.
The Italian side opened the second half on a consistent note and went rapidly up by 15 points (51-36). From then on, however, Alex Mumbru’s team grew up offensively, entering an 8-2 run that forced Luca Banchi to call timeout at 3:50 on the clock. With a 2+1 play, Chris Jones reduced the gap to 63-55.
Blowing kisses to the crowd, Achille Polonara started the fourth quarter with a frontal three-pointer to keep Virtus comfortable. Chris Jones reduced once again the deficit to single digits (76-67) entering the final five minutes of the encounter. Running in transition, Iffe Lundberg pushed Virtus up 79-67 with 3:41 minutes to go. Alessandro Pajola and Jordan Mickey closed things up immediately afterward.
In the first clash of the season between the Italian black-and-white side and the Spanish orange team, back in the EuroLeague Round 16 before Christmas, Alex Mumbru’s players won 79-71 at home.
Next week, Valencia (13-14) will come back to Fonteta hosting Barcelona on March 7 at 20:30 CET in one of the Spanish derbies of the EuroLeague season. Luca Banchi’s team (17-10), instead, will travel to Piraeus to face Olympiacos on the same day at 21:00 CET.
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna
Read all the latest news from the basketball world