By William Hill News Editorial Team
31 May 2024
After having risked suffering a sensational comeback, the Virtus Bologna closes the games against the Reyer Venice. The second series of the playoff semi-finals ends in game 4, with the Vu Nere’s success 96-79 at Taliercio, which sees a match full of reversals with two signature signatures: 29 points for Shengelia and 22 per Belinelliwhile Heidegger’s 21 points are not enough for the home team.
The start of the match is a Virtussi monologue (5-1), then the lagoon players also enter the game. Heidegger and Wiltjer they are very inspired and lead coach Spahija’s men to 12-7: Venezia responds twice to Bologna’s equalizer and closes the first quarter in style. The triples by Casarin and Simms are in fact worth 27-23, which becomes +7 in the first minutes of the second set. Then a triple of Polonara revitalizes Banchi’s team: the coach fields all twelve players on the scoresheet to find new energy. Pajola and Shengelia bring Bologna back under, Lomazs equalizes, but then the guests spread and close the lead at 57-45 at halftime.
In the second half Reyer enters with great impetus and the desire to reopen the match: Simms and Heidegger bring the Venetians back to -4 with 10 minutes to go. At the start of the last quarter Spissu he brings his team back to just one point behind at 73-72, but from here on the lagoon players shut down and don’t score for six minutes. Virtus scores a 13-0 run and flies to 86-72: on top Abs and Pajola who definitively annihilate Venice. In the finale Shengelia, Belinelli and Lanyard they limit themselves to perfecting the advantage: Bologna closes at 96-79 and goes to the final against Olimpia Milano. The last act of the 2023/2024 Serie A basketball season will begin on Thursday 6 June at the Segafredo Arena, then game 2 on Saturday 8th and game 3 on 11 June in Milan: the possible game 4 will still be at the Unipol Forum, the eventual “beautiful” one in Bologna.
Reyer’s scoreboard Venezia-Virtus Bologna 79-96 (27-23, 45-57; 66-70)
REYER VENICE: Spissu 4; Weavers 5; Heidegger 21; Casarin 3; De Nicolao 6; Janelidze 3; Kabengele 0; Parks 9; Brooks NE; Simms 12; Wiltjer 8; Tucker 10; All. Spahija
VIRTUS BOLOGNA: Cordinier 7; Belinelli 22; Pajola 8; Dobrich 0; Male 0; Lomasz 6; Shengelia 29; Hackett 0; Polonara 7; Zizic 2; Dunston 0; Abass 15. All. Benches
