First they pay homage to him, then they beat him: Virtus welcomes the return of Milos Teodosic to Bologna with another brilliant shooting evening (19/31 from 2, 12/26 from 3) and of the Shengelia-Belinelli pair (19+15 points ). Red Star clearly defeated, despite a risk of a comeback in the last quarter, and third victory in the first four Euroleague games for Luca Banchi’s team, which enjoys six players in double figures
Virtus Bologna is serious. The second victory in a week arrives at PalaDozza and the third in four Euroleague games. One would be biting one’s elbows for the only defeat, on their home debut against Zalgiris Kaunas, squandering a 15-point lead, but Banchi’s team proves to be one of the best groups at the start of the season. After Munich and Alba Berlin, former Milos Teodosic’s Red Star, celebrated before the match, also falls with standing ovations, hugs, banners and a celebratory painting.
The match report
The first basket of the match is a triple from Belinelli’s corner. Perfect prologue of the first quarter, closed ahead 26-15 by Virtus, deadly at three point shooting (5/7). Not only the former San Antonio guard is on top form (8 points), but also Pajola (6 points with 2/2 from the arc) and Shengelia (6 points), the beacon of almost all offensive actions when he is on the pitch. Red Star attacked very badly, but did not collapse thanks to too many turnovers and the many trips to the line allowed by Bologna. The Serbs started the second period better with assists from Teodosic and points from Hanga (26-22). The shock for the hosts comes from Shengelia: triple and wonderful assist crushed to the ground on the counterattack for Lundberg. The Dane and Cordinier they are unleashed both in defense and attack and lead the partial until 38-22, became 44-33 halfway through the race.
The plot does not change after the interval. Red Star has a good impact, but literally never finds the basket from beyond the arc (1/19 al 25′): a series of bricks in the shot undermines the possibility of a serious comeback. Bologna is less fluid, but always finds useful plays to keep the advantage around double figures. THE protagonists are always Shengelia and Belinelli, while i Hackett’s first points make PalaDozza explode again for a new +15 (62-47). The first rings from Napier and the triples from Giedraitis try to mend things 10 minutes from the end (62-55), but Bologna doesn’t get upset and Banchi’s second unit (Mickey, Pajola, Lundberg) ensures a new lead up to 73-59. It could be the decisive one, but Virtus still gets stuck in attack, paradoxically with the return of the starting quintet to the field, and suffers the verve of Napier and Mitrovic. A triple from Teodosic and a naive unsportsmanlike shot from Shengelia cause a 78-74 Bologna with 50 seconds left with ball in hand for Red Star. However, Napier misses the throw and gives Virtus a safety margin. It ends 85-79 for the Black Vsnow expected from the French trip to Villeurbanne next week, who emerge psychologically strengthened by the victory in a direct clash against a playoff contender.
Scoreboard
The power of Bologna: Cordinier 11, Lundberg 10, Belinelli 15, Pajola 10, Smith, Dobric 2, Cacok, Shengelia 19, Hackett 4, Mickey 13, Dunston 1, Abass n.e.
Red Star: Teodosic 5, Hanga 11, Davidovac 4, Mitrovic 14, Lazic 4, Simonovic 1, Napier 23, Bolomboy 8, Nedovic 3, Giedraitis 6, Kuzmic n.e., Dos Santos
1^ GIORNATA: VIRTUS BOLOGNA-ZALGIRIS KAUNAS
Outward journey on 05/10/2023 Return on 19/03/2024 Go to the photo gallery
3rd DAY: VIRTUS BOLOGNA-ALBA BERLIN
Outward journey on 10/18/2023 Return on 01/05/2024 Go to the photo gallery
TAG:
2023-10-20 20:41:26
#Euroleague #Virtus #BolognaStella #Rossa #highlights
