By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
BOLOGNA, Italy – After a heroic performance in Game 1, dragged by the evergreen Tornike Shengelia in front of black-and-white fans, Virtus Bologna hosted Brescia once again in Game 2 of the LBA Finals.
Without the injured Maurice Ndour, it wouldn’t have been an easy task since the beginning for Peppe Poeta’s team, which still fought with tears and blood until the very end.
Ultimately, Virtus won 75-65, securing the 2-0 lead in the series with the Georgian forward being once again dominant for the hosts, finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Brandon Taylor (13 points on 3/5 from deep) and Daniel Hackett (10 points and 6 assists) followed him. Alessandro Pajola added 11 points over 3/6 from deep.
On the other side, Brescia had his main contributors in Jason Burnell (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals) – playing most of Maurice Ndour’s minutes as power forward – and Nikola Ivanovic (12 points).
The two teams started hot from deep, tied at 9-9 with three daggers each in the first three minutes of action. Brescia tied at 19-19 with a thunderous dunk in transition by Jason Burnell.
In the second, balance remained still, and Brescia even got the 30-29 lead at 4:48 left. However, the black-and-white side entered a 10-0 run later on, escaping at halftime up by seven points (39-32).
Dusko Ivanovic’s players strengthened their lead as time went by, but Brescia once again reacted with a 10-0 run, getting down by only three points (53-50) with one minute before the fourth.
Virtus Bologna looked on top of the world when Alessandro Pajola banked in a dagger that made the whole arena erupt, going up 63-51. From then on, the home side continued to control the encounter.
2024-25 LBA Playoffs
Quarterfinals (best of five)
Virtus Segafredo Bologna – Umana Reyer Venice 3-2 (90-85, 77-75, 82-89, 78-84, 86-84)
Dolomiti Energia Trento – EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 1-3 (70-73, 70-67, 79-107, 82-89)
Germani Brescia – Trieste 3-1 (89-77, 92-103, 80-70, 92-88)
Trapani Shark – UnaHotels Reggio Emilia 3-0 (80-75, 102-88, 90-83)
Semifinals (best of five)
Virtus Segafredo Bologna – EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 3-1 (68-67, 66-85, 78-68, 84-78)
Trapani Shark – Germani Brescia 0-3 (92-93, 77-85, 86-92)
Finals (best of five)
Virtus Segafredo Bologna – Germani Brescia 2-0 (90-87, 75-65)
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna