The EuroLeague closes in Bologna in a challenge all Italian that has no ranking implications, not even that of finding out which of the two Italians will finish further ahead because Olimpia boasts two more successes than Virtus. But it’s still a EuroLeague game and both teams will want to honor it. Olimpia arrive after winning nine of their last 12 matches of their European season. In this span no one has won more games. Virtus has lost the last five. This match will create some elastic between the end of the EuroLeague season and the playoffs of the Italian championship, where the two teams are divided first and second by a difference victory. There will obviously be no limitations on the number of foreign players that can be used as always in the EuroLeague. In Olimpia, the flu has created several recent problems, so much so that Stefano Tonut has missed the last two games and Davide Alviti, Johannes Voigtmann and Kevin Pangos have also missed some training sessions due to the same problem. Today the flu symptoms stopped Shabazz Napier and Nicolò Melli. Only for the first there are feeble hopes of recovery.
NOTE – Virtus Bologna-EA7 Emporio Armani Milano will be played on Thursday 13 April at 20:45 in Bologna live on Sky Sport and Eleven.
THE REFEREES – Juan Carlos Garcia (Spain), Emin Mogulkoc (Turkey), Fernando Rocha (Portugal).
COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “It’s a match between two teams who would have liked to play for the playoffs, perhaps even in this match. On the other hand, it was a difficult season, but we want to honor this last commitment in the best possible way by playing another good match, especially in anticipation of the playoffs of the Italian championship”.
VIRTUS BOLOGNA – In the EuroLeague, Bologna has often changed the starting lineup. The most employed among the top five was Mam Jaiteh with 32 out of 32 appearances (8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 58.3% from two). Generally, Daniel Hackett is used as a point guard in the starting lineup: a EuroLeague veteran, who won in Moscow together with Kyle Hines, is scoring 5.8 points per game and adding 2.7 assists. Semi Ojeleye, as a small forward, averages 10.6ppg and is the first team scorer. For him there are high percentages from both two (59.8%) and three (46.6%). As a power forward, Scariolo’s choice is usually Toko Shengelia (9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game). The other guard in the starting lineup is often the Danish Iffe Lundberg, 8.3 points with 57.4% from two, one of the three former CSKA players in the Bologna team. The staff is deep especially in the external sector where there are Alessandro Pajola (3.1 points and 2.5 assists on average), Nico Mannion (5.9 points per game, 38.3% from three), Marco Belinelli (8.9 points, 39.8% from three) and naturally Milos Teodosic (10.3 points and 6.0 assists per game) who has missed the last few games due to injury. Isaia Cordinier, also recently injured, is a physical guard averaging 6.6ppg. Kyle Weems provides depth to the small forward sector (6.4 points, 40.3% from three), Awudu Abass plays both small forward and power forward and finally Ismail Bako (6.2 points, 67.3% from two) and Jordan Mickey (7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds average) complete the long department.
LA POWER CONNECTION – Giampaolo Ricci played for Virtus Bologna for two seasons winning the 2021 Scudetto as Captain. Daniel Hackett played in Milan for two years, winning the 2014 Scudetto. Awudu Abass played for two years in Milan, from 2017 to 2019, winning the 2018 Scudetto and the Super Cup twice. Ettore Messina has coached in the Virtus youth team since the 1983/84 season when he was also Alberto Bucci’s assistant and as such he won the Scudetto by beating Olimpia in the final. He became head coach in the 1989/90 season, remaining there until the 1992/93 season included, only to return in 1997 and remain there again until 2002. In these two parentheses he won the Euroleague twice (1998 and 2001), the Cup once of the Cups (1990), the Scudetto three times (1993, 1998 and 2001), the Italian Cup three times. The Virtus Bologna coach, Sergio Scariolo was Olimpia coach for two years, in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons, with one championship final under his belt.
PREVIOUS – In Milan, the balance is 70-25 for Olimpia. The total is 109-85 for Olimpia. Obviously, all the matches played in the Italian league between the two teams are included in this count. Considering only the EuroLeague matches, the balance is 2-2. Olimpia won the 1997 round of 16 2-1, winning Game 3 at home. This year the European precedent was in favor of Bologna which thus impacted on the 2-2.
KYLE HINES NOTES – Kyle Hines is within 13 defensive rebounds of 1,000 in his career. His streak of 109 consecutive games played in the EuroLeague for Olimpia continues. Hines is fourth in number of appearances behind Kaleb Tarczewski, Nicolò Melli and Vlado Micov.
BILLY BARON NOTES – Olimpia is 11-4 in matches where Billy Baron has scored in double figures. In games won by Olimpia, Baron scores 13.9 points per game on 49.6% shooting from three and 67.5% from two.