Virtus Segafredo Bologna was defeated 89-77 in the second match of the Euroleague Play-in Tournament on the Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz pitch and ended its excellent seasonal run in the top European men’s basketball competition here.
After fighting on equal terms in the first half, in fact, the Basques prevailed thanks to a 31-16 run which opened the gap which later proved decisive. The 5 men who reached double figures were not enough for the Bianconeri, namely Shengelia (16 points and 7 rebounds), Hackett (13 points), Belinelli (10 points), Cordinier (10 points) and Lundberg (10 points).
THE MATCH
The news (LBA Press Office Source) – Start of the match with Belinelli carrying the guests on his shoulders and Sedekerskis opening the rossoblu scoreboard with two triples and the three-point play to make it 9-8. After a back and forth between Rogkavopoulos and Shengelia under the scoreboards, Cordinier at the rim cushioned the effects of a header from Costello and Howard, also giving Zizic the breakthrough to make it 19-18.
Following a pair of free throws made by Howard, Abass breaks the deadlock with a nice fade-away basket and Lundberg beats the mermaid of the quarter with the incursion to make it 21-22. Baskonia then relies once again on Costello’s versatility but a triple from Abass and a couple of nice individual plays from Lundberg don’t let the hosts escape, actually managing to put their head back in the lead at 28-29.
The perimeter danger of Rogkavopoulos and a triple by Howard, subsequently, Baskonia reached +4 several times but a triple and the power of Hackett and a thunderous dunk by Abass tied the match again (36-36). At the end of the half, a winning cut by Miller-McIntyre and a bomb by Howard were canceled out by a super triple by Howard and another pearl by Lundberg, sending the teams to the locker room at 41-41.
The former Shengelia opens the second half with an elegant movement from the low post but then Baskonia scores a 12-0 break with the gusts of Miller-McIntyre in transition, two consecutive triples by Markus Howard and a tap-in by Rogkavopoulos. Hackett stops the bleeding with the fundamental support of 53-45 but Miller-McIntyre continues to find lines of penetration and Howard above all sends two more bombs of pure talent to the target which push Baskonia to +16 (63-47).
After a timeout called by coach Banchi, Segafredo shakes up with Shengelia and Zizic scoring two fouled baskets which bring the guests closer to -11, although then Costello from the line and a triple from Marinkovic dampen the guest’s inertia to a minimum (68 -54). At the end of the quarter, Shengelia and Pajola are unable to stop the accelerations of Howard and Miller-McIntyre, thus leaving the Basques in control of the match after 30′ (72-57).
With a recovery finalized by Lundberg and triples by Polonara, Hackett and Mickey, Virtus tries with character not to give up but Howard is relentless and together with Marinkovic and Costello they maintain the double-digit gap between the teams (79-68). Then the bombs from Costello and Sedekerskis made vain the last gusts of Cordinier and especially Shengelia and sealed the victory for Baskonia 89-77.
THE SCORESHEET
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs Virtus Segafredo Bologna: 89 – 77 (Q1 21 – 22; Q2 41 – 41; Q3 72 – 57)
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz: Howard 28, Raieste, Chiozza, Querejeta ne, Sedekerskis 16, Marinkovic 5, Miller-McIntyre 8, Diez, Rogkavopoulos 9, Kotsar 4, Costello 19, Theodore ne.
Coach: Ivanovic
Virtus Segafredo Bologna: Cordinier 10, Lundberg 10, Belinelli 10, Pajola 1, Dobric, Shengelia 16, Hackett 13, Mickey 3, Polonara 3, Zizic 4, Dunston, Abass 7.
Coach: Banchi
Referees: ILIJA BELOSEVIC, MEHDI DIFALLAH, MILAN NEDOVIC.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
Tags: Virtus Euroleague ends Baskonia wins challenge earns Play Offs
