By Cesare Milanti / info@Eurohoops.net
BOLOGNA, Italy – One thing is certain in this year’s LBA Finals: playing at home matters. Following Milano’s first two wins in Mediolanum Forum, Virtus Bologna managed to tie the series with two back-to-back great performances in front of its black-and-white fans, winning Game 4 93-89 in what ended up being the greatest and craziest encounter of the season in Italy, finished after two overtimes.
Jordan Mickey was one of the protagonists of the big margin created by the winning black-and-white in the first half, ending Game 4 with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Marco Belinelli provided 18 points and 2/5 from beyond the arc.
Tornike Shengelia followed them by scoring 9 points and dishing 5 assists, and Alessandro Pajola provided an all-around performance of 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Isaia Cordiner went close to a crazy double-double with 8 points and 14 rebounds.
On the losing side, Shavon Shields found one of his best-losing efforts since coming back from the injury that forced him to miss a large part of the season. The 29-year-old former Baskonia small forward ended the game with an incredible performance of 26 points and 9 rebounds.
With back-to-back three-pointers in the last seconds of the regular time, Shabazz Napier gave hope to Milano, forcing overtime and ending the game with 16 points and 7 assists. Nicolò Melli ended the encounter with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Virtus found the way despite a crazy roller-coaster
Emotions run fast since the beginning of the game, as Daniel Hackett exploded all of his feelings following a three-point play with 6:57 minutes left in the first quarter. Sergio Scariolo put Jordan Mickey in the starting lineup, and the former Real Madrid big man responded well on the low post. The home side got an 11-point lead (21-10) with 2:12 left, ending the first up 24-14. Milano had 6 turnovers and half of its points from second-chance opportunities.
Virtus Bologna’s dominance continued in the second quarter, reaching a 16-point lead (33-17) with 5:18 before halftime. Olimpia Milano struggled shooting from beyond the arc – they’ll finish the game shooting 31.4% (11/35) – and reduced his offensive rebounds in the second quarter, unlike Virtus Bologna. Sergio Scariolo’s team went to the locker rooms up 40-31 following Gigi Datome’s first three-pointer of the game.
Milano reduced the gap to seven points (46-39) with 6:42 on the clock in the third quarter, as Gigi Datome assisted Johannes Voigtmann’s deep three with a rocket pass. However, Virtus Bologna rapidly got back the momentum, dunking in a fast-break situation with Semi Ojeleye, before Shavon Shields took care of business with a two-point jumper for the momentary 50-45. Nicolò Melli recorded his 4th personal foul at the end of the third quarter, with Virtus Bologna leading 60-47.
Things didn’t change in the fourth quarter, where Sergio Scariolo’s team just kept on dominating against the red-and-white rivals, reaching an 18-point lead (67-49) as Marco Belinelli banked in one of his crazy daggers from a long distance. Milano fought back to just a four-point margin with 4:43 left in the game, scoring 13 straight points.
From Pippo Ricci’s technical foul thirteen seconds later, it seemed like Virtus Bologna could keep an important margin until the end, but Milano trailed by only three points with only 1:09 left, as Shabazz Napier made his first three-pointer of the night. The former Washington Wizards playmaker scored other three points with 00:17 seconds on the clock, tying things up at 76-76.
In the extra time, Virtus Bologna counted heavily on Jordan Mickey’s contribution to the low post. With back-to-back turnovers by Isaia Cordiner and Tornike Shengelia, Milano found the first lead of the game since the first quarter at 80-78 with a jumper by Shavon Shields. The home side completely lost control of the game, and the two sides went to the second overtime at 80-80.
Nicolò Melli went out of the court with 4:16 left in the 2OT, as Jordan Mickey put Virtus Bologna ahead once again at 82-80, and Isaia Cordiner scored four consecutive points for the 86-84 lead. First travelling and then committing the 5th foul of his night, Shavon Shields couldn’t help the red-and-white side in the very late minutes of a never-ending night. Milos Teodosic wrote the word end by scoring a dagger with 1:13 left, giving Virtus the decisive five-point lead (91-86).
Same roster choices on both sides after Game 3. Ettore Messina sidelined Kevin Pangos, Brandon Davies, Nazareth Mitrou-Long, DeShaun Thomas, and Davide Alviti. His colleague Sergio Scariolo left out Ismael Bako, Gabriel Iffe Lundberg, Kyle Weems, and Leo Menalo.
While in the first two games of the series Olimpia Milano had the better of the opponents in Mediolanum Forum, Virtus Bologna bounced back in Game 3, conceding only 61 points to Ettore Messina’s team. Following the second straight victory in the series, they earned the opportunity of playing at least Game 6 at home. Game 5 will be played in Milano’s Mediolanum Forum on June 19 at 20:30 CET.
LBA Finals results and schedule
Olimpia Milano – Virtus Bologna, G1: 92-82
Olimpia Milano – Virtus Bologna, G2: 79-76
Virtus Bologna – Olimpia Milano, G3: 69-61
Virtus Bologna – Olimpia Milano, G4: 93-89
Olimpia Milano – Virtus Bologna, G5 (19/06 at 20:30 CET)
Virtus Bologna – Olimpia Milano, G6 (21/06 at 20:30 CET)
Olimpia Milano – Virtus Bologna, G7 * (23/06 at 20:30 CET)
*If needed.
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna