Virtus, dress rehearsal for the Coppa Italia. A challenge to win to get back on track

Navigate by sight, the Virtus, expected at 19,30 pm in Casale Monferrato by Tortona. The trip to Piedmont is often a difficult one, but Virtus and Dusko Ivanovic, returning from the double home stop in Euroleague – first Partizan, then Paris – have a thousand reasons to seek victory.

To chase away bad thoughts, of course, to stay glued to the noble areas of the ranking and because, this week, there will also be the final eight of Coppa Italia. And on Wednesday, in Turin, Virtus will have the mother of all matches. The one with Olimpia Milano who, after losing the 2021 championship in the final, sewed three tricolors on their chest, always under the gaze of Virtus.

The Italian Cup to give meaning to the season. And also to reassure the square after the composition of the new board of directors that does not include men trusted by Carlo Gherardi. The group headed by Gherardi himself has expressed trust in the current members: any discussions are postponed to the end of the season.

Today, in fact, the focus is on Tortona. And Virtus will show up in Piedmont without Clyburn and Zizic. Justin Holiday, after his debut against Partizan, hit a three-pointer against Paris. But it is logical that the coach and the club expect a higher performance from the one who, in 2015 (one year after captain Belinelli and his experience with the Spurs), was able to win the ring with Curry's Golden State.

Maybe Ivanovic will have to change something too: there has been some grumbling about the composition of the quintets and the playing time (Tucker and Diouf, for example, would have deserved more use against the French).

Always fighting is a reason that makes the majority of fans proud. But victories help to smile more and look to the future with greater optimism.

A word from Daniele Parente: "We are back on the court shortly after our last game, against a team that, like us, played a European Cup game during the week. Tortona always approaches the game very well at home: it is an athletic team, both in the guards and in the big men. On our part, it will be necessary to avoid their transition and pay a lot of attention to their one-on-ones. It is a team that is very good at offensive rebounding, one of the best teams in the championship from this point of view. We will need to concentrate possession after possession also because we will be facing players with a lot of offensive talent".