The evening of the new Virtussino head coach Jakovljevic was very bitter. Best scorers for the Bolognese Diouf and Morgan with 16 points
Less confidence and energy: Virtus Bologna melts after the first two quarters and suffers their fifth consecutive defeat in the Euroleague despite the rest period in the league last weekend. A defeat without appeal, at home against Paris 103-82. So painful because there was something at stake: both are now excluded from the play-offs and play-ins. Rather because after the dismissal of Dusko Ivanovic from the team a reaction was expected. Instead, the “dance of debutants” among the coaches smiles at Julius Thomas, 27 years old at the French team after taking over from Francesco Tabellini a few days ago. The evening of the new Virtussino head coach Nenad Jakovljevic was very bitter, with the credits starting to roll in the middle of the fourth period, accelerated by the 19 triples scored by the guests with 45% accuracy. Hifi is the MVP with 20 points while Edwards stops at 9. Sixteen each for Doiuf and Morgan.
Virtus-Paris 82-103
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After a first quarter of studying, just when Virtus manages to carve out a slight margin of advantage thanks to a outburst from Smailagic (6 points in the first quarter) and a Jallow triple (25-21) at the beginning of the second quarter, Paris inaugurates a golden moment from the arc that changes the game. Bologna floats for a while taking advantage of the pick and roll, but is forced to fall below 8 points behind (45-53 just before the break) when the opponents score 7 triples out of 9 attempts, led by the elf Hifi who does the good and the bad in the 34 points scored by his team in the second 10 minutes (still conceding 27).
early surrender
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In a match that is worth more for pride than for the rankings after the dismissal of Sergeant Dusko, Bologna who returns from the interval reinvigorated in spirit does not last long. When he breaks the deadlock, Edwards scores a seven-point break that puts the match back in balance. It seems like yet another deja vu, but instead it will be the last time. The inertia in favor lasts a gust of wind. The French resist the blows and respond with two shoulder strikes that are worth +15 (61-76) at the end of the third period. The double-digit deficit was achieved for the first time with Shahrvin’s dunk after Morgan’s block on Edwards, a stark snapshot of the moment between the two teams. PalaDozza deluded itself with Vildoza’s triple from midfield at the end of the 30th minute, canceled out by the referees. We return to earth just as Robinson takes his team to the stars, paving the way towards the +22 (66-88) which matures with 6 minutes to go. A rather long time in basketball, but the turnovers and the lower intensity soon extinguish any hope. A minute later the night is even colder: -27 (66-93).
Virtus: Diouf 16 and Morgan 16, Vildoza 12
Paris: Hifi 20, Robinson, Ouattara and Herrera 14
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