First quarter
The match starts at a low pace, following the home team’s style of play. After some confusing action the match breaks the deadlock, with the hosts being led by Isaiah Canaan, author of 6 points, while the guests play very well as a team and with captain Belinelli and Daniel Hackett they withstand the attack and close the first quarter on the lead. Also worth highlighting is the good contribution of Shengelia who entered the team after leaving the starting position to Jordan Mickey.
Second quarter
In the second quarter Virtus started off great and with the right character. Dobric is proof of this: the Serbian fully repays Banchi’s trust with 5 points and an immediate goal.
Oly loses a lot of balls and continues to struggle to find a balance. Wright enters and commits two generous fouls which force him to return to the bench.
Towards the middle of the quarter, Virtus found their maximum advantage at 24-32, but the Greeks reacted immediately with points from McKissic and Brazdeikis, returning to -4.
The Bianconeri still remain in command and try to place a partial that can send them to the locker room with serenity, but against the European vice-champions it is not easy.
With 1 minute to go, Belinelli’s triple and Shengelia’s two points, resulting from a Hackett steal, are worth +9 for Segafredo. The guests also reach +12, but Papanikolaou’s triple brings everything back under the double-digit margin between the two teams.