Milan, 30 November 2023 – Eleventh round of Euroleague bitter for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan e Virtus Segafredo Bolognaranging both knockouts. To interrupt the mini-positive streak of Olimpia – which came into the match after two victories in a row – wasor Zalgiris Kaunas who, after having defeated PalaDozza of Bologna in their seasonal debut, also conquered the Forum of Assago by beating Milan 83-70. The Lithuanian team was the protagonist of a great collective performance on both halves of the pitch: in defense where they managed to stifle Milan’s guns for large stretches of the match and in attack where they were able to cope with the injury suffered during the match underway by Butkevicius and was carried away by the trio formed by Edgar Ulanov (20 points and 6 rebounds), Keenan Evans it’s yes Roland Smith. After a first quarter closed in the lead by Milan, Zalgiris raised the engine revs by taking advantage of Milan’s difficulties in shooting from the arc (1/11 from three for Olimpia in the opening 20′) and posting a 9-0 partial which allowed him to return to the locker room at +10 (31-41). After the break, Milan tried to adjust their aim from long range but Zalgiris conceded very little thanks to a great defense and responded blow by blow driven by Smits. Supported by Tonut’s flashes, Milan then tried to completely reopen the game in the fourth quarter, but was never able to go beyond -7 and finally collapsed under Evans’ final blows.
Virtus starts off strong but then goes down in Munich
Bitter away match in Munich, however, for Virtus Segafredo Bologna, beaten 90-76 by Bayern at the end of a match with two faces and dominated by former NBA players Serge Ibaka, author of 24 points and 13 rebounds for an overall rating of 34. A haul that allowed him to win the long-distance duel with Toko Shengelia, who still finished with 15 points, 7 less than the 22 recorded by Marco Belinelli. At Bayern, however, Ibaka was supported by four other players who finished in double figures for points scored, among which Francisco, Edwards and Booker stand out. As mentioned, the Bianconeri’s defeat came at the end of a two-sided match: Bologna in fact started with the fifth team engaged, dominating far and wide with the play of Belinelli, Hackett and Shengelia and starting with a stunning 27-13 . However, Bayern knew how to wait for their moment, which arrived at the end of the second half, when Bonga, Ibaka and Weiler-Babb made it 8-0 for the Bavarians -2 at half time. A blaze that completely reopened every discussion and gave confidence to the hosts who then, in the fourth quarter, were able to take advantage of Virtus’ physical collapse and struck with the winning plays of Francisco, which inspired the 14-2 run that definitively allowed Pablo Laso’s men to get their hands on victory.
2023-11-30 22:28:13
#Euroleague #Zalgiris #beats #Olimpia #Milano #Virtus #blows #Ibaka
