Basketball, match-4 of the championship final: Milan-Virtus Bologna 77-62

Three to one, that’s right. Milan now becomes the natural favorite to win the Scudetto, also because to overturn the series Bologna would have to win three in a row. Nothing is impossible, but for what we have seen tonight we say that it appears difficult. Race-4 ends 77-62, a net +15, which started in the last 10 ‘. You will remember that 62 were the same points that Milan conceded in race-1: when you travel on similar numbers, hoping to take the race home becomes a big deal.

The race

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In the first 20 ‘there is a recovery each, to put it in boxing jargon: but the Milanese +14 of the second quarter is worth more than the Bolognese +8 of the previous one, if only because it was obtained in comeback. Scariolo’s team is too scholastic, he only relies on Shengelia, Belinelli struggles to emerge, only Sampson puts his soul into it, while Teodosic tries to light up with two triples in a row before disappearing. Thus, it happens that Milan after 14-15 (Grant’s triple) suffers too much, with Messina raising his voice with Datome guilty of having given too much space to Shengelia in an action. The second ten minutes are on the verge of perfection for Milan. Shields starts, then Melli and Bentil but the real thorn in the side of the virtuoso defense is Grant. A triple of him leads the 30-28, at the beginning of the third quarter his own Grant puts 5 points in a row that lead to the maximum advantage, +11, 45-34. It could be over, instead Shengelia plays practically alone and the 51 draw on the 27 ‘puts some anxiety on the Milanese. Anxiety that will not last long. The last quarter is dominated by Rodriguez and his teammates who put an end to the evening with a partial 18-0, leaving the opponents the misery of 7 points. Seven points already. Crazy. But in the end the fatigue really brought Bologna to its knees. And now in less than 48 hours we return to the Segafredo Arena in Bologna with the first match point for Olimpia.

Milano: Shields 21, Hall 14, Grant 11

Bologna: Shengelia 21, Jaiteh 12, Sampson and Teodosic 8