Virtus Bologna - Milano
Italian Lega Basket Serie A Finals Game 4
Bologna, June 21, 20:30 CET
Pistol Pete
The home teams have a huge advantage in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A final - that's why Virtus Bologna are strong favorites in the sixth finals game against Armani Milano.
In the first match of the finals in their arena (third in final series), the Bologna team impressed against a powerful Euroleague rival with their defense, in a 69:61 triumph. Armani was reduced to just 42 points in 30 minutes of play, in that game played on June 14. Then, on June 16, Virtus Bologna withstood a fierce onslaught of opponents in the fourth quarter and won in overtime 93:89. Armani finally got a 3:2 advantage in the final series on June 19 in Milan (79:72).
The finals are followed by fierce duels, overall bad energy among the players of the opposing teams... And the physical conflict between the Virtus players and the Armani fans in Milan, after the second match of the finals, was included in all of this. Because of all that, the atmosphere in Bologna arena was brought to a hostile levels - and Virtus as the host has an obvious advantage.
However, Armani is completely relieved before this game. The team of the famous coach Ettore Messina can afford to lose in this match in Bologna, since Armani would then be the host in the eventual seventh match of the final, which would decide the champion.
Virtus also won against Armani as the home team on April 13, 89:84 in the Euroleague game, when the Bologna squad shone in the last quarter. Before that, in Lega Basket Serie A, Armani Milano beat Bologna 96:74 in a match played on January 2. However, Virtus was severely weakened and the defeat, even convincing, was not unexpected.
In the previous match of the final in Milan (already mentioned victory of the hosts 79:72), the famous playmaker of Virtus Bologna, Serbian guard Milos Teodosic, did not score a single point in 16 minutes in play. He had only two assists. He is expected to show leadership on the home court and lead the team to victory with a significant performance.
Good news for Virtus is the high-level form of former NBA star Belinelli (17 points in the previous game). Armani, on the other hand, continuously counts on the good releases of the excellent shooter Shavon Shields, who marked the previous game with 22 points and five rebounds. Playmaker Napier, a former NBA star, has been playing well for a long time. The fierce duels of the guards will definitely mark the final until the end.
An important asset for the Bologna team is the excellent Italian athlete Hackett, a defensive specialist and one of team leaders. It is he who brings security to the game for the excellent editions of the hosts in Bologna.
The Italian basketball public absolutely expects this final to see a seventh game. Armani certainly wants to celebrate the title in front of their fans. The Milan team has 29 titles, Virtus 16, and this final series, with the quality of the basketball shown, has already found its place as an important chapter in the history of Italian club basketball.
The Basketball Expert
In Game 5 of the Serie A Finals, Milos Teodosic and Toko Shengelia played the weakest match in this series. Despite that, Virtus had a chance to win in Milan. Once again, Sergio Scariolo's team struggled a lot with three-point shots. Marco Belinelli scored three times from downtown, and the rest of the team combined was identically successful. On the other hand, Virtus defense was at a high level, except in the first quarter when they allowed Milano to score 26 points. Considering the bad night Teodosic and Shengelia had, coach Scariolo didn't use them too much, so both of them will be even fresher for Game 6, and it's simply impossible for players of that quality to play such bad two games in a row.
On Monday night, Milano continued the tradition in this series. Home team won for the fifth time, so they lead 3-2 and are one triumph away from winning the title in Serie A. Shavon Shields hit shots at a high percentage, and Nicolo Melli played a heroic game with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Milano managed to dominate the paint even though Virtus has much more depth in the frontcourt. If they did something like that in Game 6, they would definitely have a good chance to close the series and lift the trophy. However, that is easier said than done. Devon Hall and Kyle Hines don't exist in this series and head coach Ettore Messina needs to find a way to include them as well.
Virtus played more than solid three road games in the "Mediolanum Forum", but they were defeated each time. They hope to get another chance. For that to happen, first they need to triumph in Game 6 in front of their fans. Except for the last five minutes of Game 4, Virtus put on an extremely serious performance in Bologna. Teodosic is always motivated to make up for a bad game, and when he is in his element, he is often unstoppable. Not a single break has been made in this series yet, and based on what has been seen so far, it is most realistic that Game 7 will decide the champion of Italy this season.