By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
We will need Game 7 to discover who’s winning the LBA this season, as Virtus Bologna won Game 6 at home against Milano to fight once more in Mediolanum Forum. Before the game started, however, the whole Segafredo Arena stood up to tribute to Kyle Weems, who is set to leave the Italian side after four years.
“Always a great warrior, Kyle forever black-and-white. You’ve always fought with us, you will never be forgotten by your people. Thank you, Kyle“, the tifo prepared by Virtus fans said.
In his first-ever EuroLeague experience with the black-and-white team after winning the EuroCup in 2022, Kyle Weems had 6.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. Before getting out of the rotation at the start of the Playoffs, in the Italian league, he had 9.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, shooting 58.8% from two.
Asked about the tribute reserved for him by Virtus Bologna’s fans, Sergio Scariolo gave a powerful answer in the post-game press conference. “The decisions are still far from being made, but if it had been Weems’ last game at Virtus, I can only say I was lucky to have coached this person, as well as this player, in these two years”, he said.
The head coach of the Spanish national team went on talking about the 33-year-old American forward, “If I no longer coach him, he will surely remain in a very small group of people of higher quality capable of expressing leadership and attachment. After two months in which he has not played, he is still the first to arrive, to encourage, to advise. Always with a smile and always with the correct body language: player and person of great class”, Sergio Scariolo added.
❤️ Amazing sign of respect by Virtus Bologna’s fans for Kyle Weems (@Kjw3434), who is set to leave the team at the end of the year.
“Always a great warrior, Kyle forever black-and-white. You’ve always fought with us, you will never be forgotten by your people”. pic.twitter.com/0cvKNHzCPT
— Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) June 21, 2023
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna