Dragons suffer a defeat in Bologna

Cedevita Olimpija started the Top 16 stage of the 7DAYS EuroCup with a 90:76 defeat against Virtus Segafred Bologna. After a great start to the match, the Dragons fell behind in the second quarter, and the Italians gained an advantage, which they then retained until the end of the match.

The Cedevita Olimpija team did not manage to surprise Virtus Segafredo Bologna, which continues to be the only undefeated team of the 7DAYS EuroCup. In the first round of the second stage of the competition, Dragons had to concede a defeat to the Italian team with the score 76:90.

The first quarter in Bologna unraveled according to the wishes of Jurica Golemec’s squad. The basketball players of Cedevita Olimpija managed to limit the strongest attacking weapons of the home team with a collective defensive performance, and after the first ten minutes of the match, they took the 18:11 lead. A good start was followed by a poorer second quarter, in which Marco Belinelli, who made his 7DAYS EuroCup debut at the Virtus Segafredo Arena, shone brightly. The Dragons headed to the break trailing by 12.

In the continuation of the match, the Ljubljana team, despite numerous attempts, failed to close the point gap. The closest the team from Stožice before came was when they melted the lead to nine points after Luka Rupnik’s free throw, but the experienced Italian team did not allow a surprise on the home ground. After the offensive last quarter, in which the teams combined for 57 points, the match ended with a score of 90:76 in favor of the home team.

Jaka Blažič and Kendrick Perry carried the greatest burden in the scoring department on their shoulders this time. The Dragons’ captain scored 25 points, and the American point guard added five assists to his 22 points. Mikael Hopkins stopped at 10 points and five rebounds, and Rion Brown and Žiga Dimec scored four each.

After the introductory European test among the best 16 teams, the Ljubljana team is returning to Stožice, where it will host Budućnost VOLI at the game of the second round of the second part of the 7DAYS EuroCup on Tuesday, at 20:30. Two days later, the Ljubljana and Podgorica teams will face each other at the postponed meeting of the fifth round of the ABA League.

STATEMENTS AFTER THE GAME

Jurica Golemac, Head Coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Well-deserved win by Virtus Bologna. We had our chances but did not make much of them. It is unacceptable to allow the opposition to have ten offensive rebounds and only commit seven fouls. When a team like that gets away it is hard to close the gap. We need to start taking more individual responsibility on offense and on defense. We have to get back to the basics and improve. There is nothing positive in the defeat. In the second half, we did allow our opponents to only grab three offensive rebounds though, and we committed 15 fouls. It was apparent we raised our intensity level and changed our mentality. However, it should not happen that we play this way for only 20 minutes.”

Jaka Blažič, Captain Cedevite Olimpije:
“Virtus Segafredo Bologna is on paper the strongest team in this season of 7DAYS EuroCup. We can be satisfied with the first quarter in which we played good defense and patiently in the offense. That was followed by a decline in our game. We conceded 35 points in the second quarter which is too much when you are playing away against a team like this. We could not get back to the game after that. In the third quarter, we raised our energy level and played with more intensity, but the opponents had too much talent in their squad so it was not possible to stop their offense. It was a good game for us because it showed what we are lacking before the continuation of the season.”

7DAYS EUROCUP; TOP 16, ROUND 1

Virtus Segafredo Arena (Bologna, Italy), Wednesday, January 13, at18.30:
VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA 90:76 (11:18, 35:16, 14:15, 30:27)
Cedevita Olimpija: Radović, Perry 22 (5 assists), Hopkins 10 (5 rebounds), Murić 6, Blažič 25, Hodžić 3, Jones 1, Dimec 4, Brown 4, Ščuka, Duščak, Rupnik 1.

STATS
GALLERY

STANDINGS