VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA – ATOMEROMU KSC SEKSZARD 89 – 59 (26-13; 49-34; 68-47)
Virtus Segafredo Bologna: Del Pero 2, Pasa 11, Rupert 15, Barberis 9, Dojkic ne, Andre’ 4, Zandalasini 10, Orsili 8, Parker 8, Laksa 22, Cinili ne. Coach Giampiero Ticchi.
Atomeromu KSC Szekszard: Miklos 5, Studer 8, Manyoky 4, Balint 2, Krnjic 12, Goree 17, Wallace 7, Szucs 2, Dudasova 2. All. Zseljiko Dojkic.
Referees: Javier Sanchez Torres, Josip Mikulic, Jelena Smiljanic.
Free throws: BO 18/24 (75%); SZ 11/14 (78%).
Rimbalzi: BO 42; SZ 27.
Falli: BO 12; SZ 24.
Tiri da 2: BO 16/30 (53%); SZ 18/40 (45%).
Tiri da 3: BO 13/26 (50%); SZ 4/19 (21%).
INITIAL QUINTETS
Virtus Segafredo Bologna: Pasa, Laksa, Zandalasini, Andre’, Rupert.
Atomeromu KSC Szekszard: Studer, Wallace, Manyoky, Balint, Goree.
Last home game in Europe for Virtus Segafredo, engaged this evening in the penultimate round of the group against Atomeromu KSC Szekszard. Without any possibility of continuing their run in the Euroleague, the only goal of the Emilians is to increase their tally as much as possible and avenge the defeat in the first leg against the Hungarian team, marred by numerous absences and by a particularly “permissive” refereeing ”.
Mindful of the match held in Hungary, Bologna starts immediately strong, immediately digging the groove with two triples from Laksa. He puts the point to Goree’s black and white hegemony from the paint, but another “bomb” from the Latvian wing and two points from Zandalasini send the landlords flying, forcing Dojkic to call timeout. The chat on the bench stirs the spirits of the blue-and-whites, who shake off the rust with a shot from Studer’s bow. A flash in the pan, however, the host one, extinguished by a partial death from a long distance by Zandalasini and Laksa, which pushes Virtus up to +17. Having slipped to the bottom of the crevasse, Atomeromu partially climbs the ridge with baskets from Krnjic and Balint, but the support of a newfound Parker puts an end to the first quarter.
At the end of a first half spent chasing, upon returning to the parquet Szekszard revs up his engine both offensively and defensively with high pressing, immediately finding two bricks from Krnjic’s line. Segafredo takes the measures to the new host set-up and scores first with Parker and then with Barberis from a very long distance. Forced to chase, the blue-and-whites attempt a comeback with baskets from Goree and Krnjic, but a rabbit from the top hat from Orsili’s pick & roll for Rupert convinces the visiting bench to call time out again. Dojkic’s words give new life to his team who, thanks to a few too many mistakes by the landlords, mend the gap with ten points from the Wallace-Manyoky duo. On the other side of the fence, Barberis and Rupert from long range keep the Bolognese flag high, supported by Orsili and Parker, the latter scoring with the last two points of the second quarter.
Closed the first half of the race from the outside USA, Virtus opens the third quarter ahead of fifteen lengths, further increasing its score with Pasa and Andre’. Despite the Bolognese outburst, Atomeromu is dragged by an indomitable Goree, author of six vital points to keep her team on track. The gap closed up to -11, the spears blunt the Hungarian formation and, thanks to the surly home defense, Bologna flies. Three free throws from Laksa open the internal partial, enriched by five points from Pasa and three from Orsili. Dojkic’s girls try to stop the bleeding, but Segafredo has more and goes even higher with the centers of Orsili and Barberis, who ends the third period with a score of 68-47.
Over the twenty points ahead, Virtus starts the last quarter in the best possible way, immediately breaking free with a shot from the average by Del Pero. The guests are not there, who set up an angry reaction with a partial of 3-8 to get back on track. However, the attempt failed against the tough Bolognese barrier, built brick by brick up to the maximum advantage of twenty-six points, which widened again after the away break thanks to Rupert’s triples and Pasa and Laksa’s baskets. In the final, coach Dojkic raises the white flag, replacing Goree with Szucs, who finds the first two points of the match by also registering for the scorer’s table. Little else in the final of a now unrecoverable match, on which Laksa puts the exclamation point at the end with a triple that definitively closes the game.
Thus ends at the Paladozza: Bologna beats Szekszard 89-59.
Virtus dominates under the European sky, clearly imposing itself against an opponent who, in the first leg, had created more than a few headaches for the Bolognese. Thanks to a few more players, the home team finds a round victory, the result of a rebounding and scoring domination, especially of the second lines (35 to 21 points from the bench). The only thorns in the side of the landlords Krnjic and Goree, respectively authors of 12 and 17 points, canceled by the shower of points from Bolognese. On the shields for Bologna Zandalasini, Pasa, Rupert and Laksa, who scored with 10, 11, 15 and 22 points, the latter being the best of the match.
The next appointment for the black and whites will be on Sunday 26 February at 6 pm at the Paladozza in the derby against E-Work Faenza.
