By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Until last week Virtus Segafredo Bologna was unbeaten in the 7DAYS EuroCup, which was already a feat in itself. Alas, the Italian club missed its chance to enter the EuroCup Finals with a perfect season-long streak after falling to UNICS Kazan on the road in Game 2 of the semifinals. Now, Virtus will seek revenge in do-or-die Game 3 of the semis on Wednesday.
Even while ultimately falling short last week, Marco Belinelli signaled the comeback gene that Virtus has possessed when needed all season. After his team was trailing by 18 points by the end of the third quarter, the Italian veteran finished the game with a new EuroCup-best performance of 33 points. Even though Virtus forged an 81-81 tie, it wasn’t enough as UNICS made 4 of 4 free throws in the last 12 seconds to prevail 85-81.
It was quite the exception to the rule for Virtus, which had shown all season an ability to rise from the “dead” on multiple occasions. While the inimitable Steve McQueen wasn’t there to help Virtus in “Great Escape” fashion on Friday, Sasa Djordevic’s squad has proven again and again to be their own heroes when they most needed saving.
Current finalists AS Monaco were the first team to get a taste of Virtus’s winning mentality back in Round 9 of the regular season in early December. The French side was in charge by 7 points with 3 minutes remaining in the game, before Virtus took control with a 13-2 run to finish the game on top. Could this be repeated in the run for the finals? It all comes down to Wednesday’s game!
Early in March, the Virtus squad added up another key comeback victory in Ljubljana to win its Top 16 group by beating Cedevita Olimpija in overtime. Again, Virtus had to fight back in crunchtime and recover from a 7-point deficit in less than 100 seconds. Milos Teodosic did his part to make it a one-point game before Belinelli hit net from the three-point line to send the game to overtime. From that point on, there was no way back for Cedevita, as Kyle Weems hit three after three in the extra five-minute period to lift his team to victory.
The display went on in the opening game of the quarterfinals, as feisty Joventut Badalona threatened to break Virtus’s streak, this time in Bologna. Joel Parra pushed the Spanish side to a 7-point lead at the 25-minute mark and it was enough to sound the alarm for Virtus. The third quarter ended on even terms at 63 points, before Badalona restored a short lead early in the fourth, but not for long. Belinelli called game to give Virtus a 77-72 lead with 2 minutes remaining and Virtus stayed intact once again.
Even though Virtus fell to the 20-win curse (the streak started with its last Top 16 game of the shortened 2019-20 season), no team has had it easy against the Italians in the current campaign. Now what’s left to be seen is whether or not UNICS can handle the pressure when they visit Bologna, where Virtus has won 17 out of 18 games since rejoining the EuroCup last season, on Wednesday evening — or if the hosts will need another “great escape”.