Everything was easy for Segafredo, who beat Trento 108-61 and ends the regular season in first place, earning the field factor in the playoffs: in the first round Banchi’s team will face Tortona, who finished in eighth place with today’s defeat on the Treviso pitch. For L’Aquila, who arrived in Bologna in a total emergency given the absences of Grazulis, Udom, Hubb and the new signing Hommes, a heavy knockout in size but which does not change anything in the playoffs: seventh place and quarter-final in which they will face the second place, i.e. Milan, who defended their place in Cremona thanks to Melli’s triple at the end. In the Bologna match, worth mentioning at Virtus are Belinelli’s 20 points and Shengelia’s 15 while for Trento Alviti leads the scoreboard, 14 points.
Virtus, the right approach
At the Segafredo Arena Virtus starts with the right approach, trying to close the practice already in the first quarter: Banchi starts with Abass and Mickey in a quintet with respect to habits and the foot is definitely pressed on the accelerator. Shortly after mid-quarter, L’Aquila is already at a double-digit deficit (21-10 on Mickey’s triple) and when the Virtus bench rotates, an opportunity that Galbiati doesn’t have due to absences, the gap widens to the eloquent 30-15 that closes the first half.
Belinelli show: Segafredo break
The returning Lundberg is inspired, for Trento Alviti tries to respond who is the soul of a 0-6 partial which leads Banchi to call a timeout: one minute and Segafredo puts their hands back on the handlebars, producing a 21-0 counter-partial signed at the bottom by 14 personal points by captain Belinelli. The only bad news of the first half for Virtus is a fortuitous fingerprint on the right eye which knocks out Polonara for a few minutes, with Forray already at four fouls halfway through the second quarter: for L’Aquila it is almost a trip and it becomes one for Virtus, given that at half-time the score was 64-28 for the home team.
Huge scissors and eyes on the other fields
With such a wide gap, the second half becomes training for the playoffs – Polonara also returns – and attention goes above all to the other fields to understand how the postseason scoreboard is made up. The third quarter ends with Virtus ahead by 44 (85-41) and in the last quarter they reach well over fifty points with the game flowing away at scrimmage pace, perhaps even less. Segafredo smiles and aims straight for the playoffs, the Eagle will now try to recover some members and try to do well in the postseason.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna – Dolomiti Energia Trentino 108-61
Partial: 30-15; 64-28; 85-41
VIRTUS: Cordinier 8, Lundberg 11, Belinelli 20, Pajola, Dobric 7, Mascolo 8, Shengelia 15, Hackett 8, Mickey 14, Polonara 2, Zizic 6, Abass 9. All.: Banchi
TRENT: Ellis 12, Alviti 14, Conti 2, Forray 2, Cooke 11, Diarra, Placinschi, Biligha 6, Mooney 5, Baldwin 9. Coaches: Galbiati
Referees: Begnis, Quarta, Nicolini
Field goals: Vir 36/56 (11/22 from three), Tre 24/71 (6/34 from three). Free throws: Vir 25/28, Tre 7/9. Rebounds: Vir 39, Tre 27. Assists: Vir 30, Tre 13
