An encouraging beginning and a desperate ending. He let Barça pass a magnificent train in Bologna, where he was about to hit the table in this Euroleague and establish himself as the only alternative to Real Madrid. But a commendable Virtus brought him down to earth and tightened the classification somewhat with a sublime finish in which the Barça team was too timid. A shame for Grimau and his team who, at times, shone at a very high level on one of the most complicated tracks in Europe this season.
Despite their recent European victories, Barça had been conceding too many points and it seemed that at the Segafredo Arena Grimau wanted to win the game from defense. Five straight victories at home saw this magnificent Virtus – there are now six – that Banchi has built from the experience of Belinelli, Dunston or Shengelia, the highest-rated player in the Euroleague so far. Da Silva started out as a nightmare for the Georgian, who went into halftime with just two free throws scored, and was not able to get back into the game until the second half. When he got it he was lethal.
At the beginning we saw a very concentrated Barça, making many fouls to cut off the Italian attacks. None seemed to be left over because he always saved a possible basket. Virtus was desperate, which was only capable of scoring from three or from the free throw. Barça did not allow him any easy baskets, as he entered the bonus very quickly and with Abrines's fine wrist he hammered the rival hoop. A free throw from Jabari Parker extended the first quarter to 16-24, against a Virtus that did not handle the ball well at all and was a total mismanagement in attack.
The Barça start to the second quarter was brilliant, suddenly extinguishing the spirited respectable Bolognese. Between a cheerful Brizuela and a superlative Willy Hernangómez they completed a run of 2-12 to go up 20-36 (minute 15), this last basket the work of Kalinic with a triple. The Barça team continued to be in a state of grace when it came to adding three at a time, shots that gave them air in crucial moments and allowed them to play with more calm.
Laprovittola almost always responded to Hackett, who emerged as the main Italian threat, but he threw all his offensive merits overboard with defenses that were too deficient and Cordinier had a great time. Vesely stopped Virtus' attempts to react with that divine wrist and kept Barça with a comfortable lead on the way to the locker room (33-45).
The awakening of Shengelia marked the resumption of the duel, author of 9 points and several assists of great merit only in the third quarter. With the Georgian plugged in, things became complicated for Barça, who no longer scored so easily, perhaps held back by the score. Shengelia completed the score at 56-61 at the buzzer to draw the last ten minutes of emotion and once again test the degree of maturity of this Barça team. This time, he failed.
The start of the last act was horrendous for the visitors against a rival that continued with great momentum. Lundberg joined Shengelia and stretched until 68-63 (minute 35). The hoop seemed square for the Blaugrana, who lost too many balls, very nervous in each attack. Vesely, the Palau's most reliable beacon, provided a bit of calm and Barça even went ahead in the last minute thanks to a triple from Satoransky (74-75). He did not score again and a majestic Lundberg executed the Italian victory. It was a great missed opportunity for the Blaugrana.
80. Virtus Segafredo Bolonia (18 15 23 24): Hackett (14), Cordinier (10), Belinelli (8), Shengelia (14), Dunston (1) -initial team-, Lundberg (21), Smith (0) , Dobric (2), Cacok (0), Mickey (8), Abass (0) and Mascolo (2).
75. Barça (24 21 16 14): Satoransky (9), Laprovittola (9), Kalinic (7), Da Silva (3), Vesely (13) -starting team- Paulí (0), Brizuela (9), Hernangómez (15), Abrines (6), Parker (4) and Jokubaitis (0).
Referees: Robert Lottermoser (ALE), Ioannis Foufis (GRE), Maxime Boubert (FRA). They signaled a technical foul against the local Hackett (min.28). They eliminated the visitor Abrines for five fouls (min.40)
Incidents: match of the twelfth day of the Euroleague basketball match played at the Virtus Segafredo Arena in Bologna (Italy).
