Basketball, Euroleague. Virtus Bologna-Stella Rossa 85-79: the match

In a very hot PalaDozza due to the return of Milos Teodosic as an opponent, celebrated before the tap-off, Virtus found their third consecutive success after the inaugural defeat by beating Stella Rossa 85-79, at the end of a match conducted for very large stretches but concluded with great suffering. Despite the excellent three-point percentages, Banchi’s team does not close the match and the 19 turnovers allow the Serbs to play for the point-to-point final: Bologna, however, manages to resist and PalaDozza can celebrate for the second time in the last 48 hours .

First half

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The start was rather slow: Banchi chose Dobric in the starting five instead of Cordinier, but as against Alba it was Belinelli who opened the scoring with two triples. Red Star struggles enormously in attack: just two points in the first two minutes and very low percentages from the field. Bologna relies on the usual Shengelia in the post, and Pajola’s excellent contribution from the bench allows the home team to escape. The Serbs remain in their wake thanks to too many turnovers and foul problems by Virtus, and with the entry of Teodosic the ball circulates much better. In the second quarter the Bolognese attack stops, Ivanovic’s team returns to minus four with a 7-0 run, but Shengelia’s triple enhances Virtus: Cordinier’s block followed by Lundberg’s triple in transition makes PalaDozza explode . However, turnovers continue to be a problem for Bologna, and despite the Serbs’ 1 out of 14 from behind the arc (in the end it will be 8/33) the first half ends at 44-33.

Tiredness and mistakes

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The third quarter repeats the leitmotif of the first half: the lack of fluidity in the game continues to penalize Red Star, who however begin to make some three-pointers. Belinelli and Shengelia respond to Hanga, Mitrovic and Napier, but the ball lost by the Georgian in the last action allows Napier to bring his team back to -7, on a score of 62-55. Tiredness makes itself felt and errors increase, but Virtus manages to manage the double-digit lead thanks to the second quintet. In the final, however, Napier takes the lead: the former Olimpia lights the spark and Red Star gets back within four with Teodosic’s triple. The last minute of the match is a succession of fouls, errors and exploits: Cordinier (author of a great performance on both sides of the pitch) takes care of dunking in the open field and closing the games.

Virtus: Shengelia 19, Belinelli 15, Mickey 13

Red Star: Napier 23, Mitrovic 14, Hanga 11