A Willing Virtus Falls to Monaco: 80-86

Bologna, 23 January 2024 - The heart and the contribution of the public are not enough for the Virtus to avoid the KO with Monaco. On the 23rd day of Euroleague the black and whites fall at the Segafredo Arena with Monaco winning 80-86: they arrive at the end without fuel. From + 21 in the 13th minute, on 39-18, Virtus has gradually seen its advantage thin out until the 66-66 reached by Monaco, with two triples in a row by James, at 34'. From then on Monaco controls and wins, against a very tired VirtusThe strength of a great team is to transform absences, in the case of Zizic and Clyburn, in opportunities for others and in fact that is what Ivanovic's team does in front of what on paper is one of the best equipped teams in the Euroleague. The credit goes to those who go on the court, but it also goes to those who, Dusko Ivanovich, leads them from the bench and has brought discipline and enthusiasm back to the Black Vs. At the start of the match Ivanovic relies on Pajola, Belinelli, Cordinier, Shengelia and GrazulisMonaco ahead in the first 3' of the game, then he thinks about it Pajola, with a triple to turn the score around and bring Virtus ahead 10-8. The fourth triple in a row by Virtus, by a revived Tucker, is worth the new black and white advantage at 13-10 at 5'. Initially the challenge continues with a continuous exchange, without either team managing to take the lead of the match. All this until 18-17 in the 8'. From that moment the inertia of the challenge changes completely. Virtus extends in the last minute of play of the first quarter, closing the first quarter ahead 26-18. The second half starts even better for Virtus: Pajola's triple, Hackett in defense on James suffers the unsportsmanlike foul of the former Milan player and scores two free throws. From the next action, Shengelia's basket launches the black and whites ahead 33-18. But Morgan's three-point play is not over, the sidereal triple by Captain Futuro Pajola, 3 out of 3 for him in the first half, is worth the 39-18 of the 13th minute that annihilates Monaco with a partial of 21-1. In less than 5 minutes of play, straddling the first break, Virtus scores a partial that splits the game in two in the jubilation of a Segafredo Arena, over 7500 in attendance, very hot and showing appreciation for the performance of the black and whites. Slowly but surely the quality and depth of the Monaco squad comes out and reduces the gap going from -21 to -6 (47-41) in the 19th minute, with the black and whites full of fouls, with Morgan, Cordinier, Doiuf and Grazulis already at 3 at half time. The second half begins with a Tucker and a Virtus that goes back ahead 53-41. Monaco scores a partial counter of 0-7, but then it is still the black and whites who keep the lead of the challenge, with Ivanovic who fields quintets that pay a lot in terms of physicality to the opponents, but that on the other side give greater dynamism to a team that has in Alessandro Paiola an essential element. At 29' the French are at -4 on 60-56, then from the free throw line Virtus breathes and closes ahead 62-56 at the last break. Two triples by James rebalance the score at 66-66 at 33'. We enter the last 5' of the game in perfect parity. Black and white mini-break with 4 points by Belinelli, to which James responds by bringing Monaco ahead 71-73 at 37'. Now the black and white attack is all on the shoulders of Belinelli who scores another triple, but it's not enough. Strazel allows the Monegasques to extend the lead to +4 74-78 with 1'51” to go and then to control the attempt in the final, more with heart than technique, of the black and whites, too tired to be able to come back. 

The little table

VIRTUS BOLOGNA 80 AS MONACO 86 VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA: Cordinier 8, Belinelli 11, Pajola 14, Shengelia 15, Hackett 2, Grazulis 5, Morgan 7, Polonara, Diouf 8, Tucker 10; Akele ne, Visconti ne. Coach Ivanovic. AS MONACO: Blossomgame 10, Papagiannis 11, Diallo 10, Cornelie 5, Montiejunas 11, Tarpey, Begarin 1, Strazel 14, Calathes, James 24; Jaiteh ne, Brown ne. Coach Spanoulis. Referees: Peruga, Dragojevic, Bittner. Notes: partial scores 26-18, 49-41, 62-56. Two-point shots: Virtus 9/23; Monaco 26/39. Three-Pointers: 13/34; 5/18. Free Throws: 23/30; 19/25. Rebounds: 34; 31.