In Bologna to face Virtus Segafredo Bologna

The players of Cedevita Olimpija will face an extremely demanding test on Wednesday at 8.30 pm in Bologna, as they will face the basketball players of Virtus in the 15th round of group work at the Virtus Segafredo Arena in Bologna. The people of Ljubljana will try to record their fifth consecutive victory in the European Cup.

After four consecutive home matches in the 7DAYS EuroCup, regional league and national championship, the member team of Cedevita Olimpija is facing a demanding tour. The team of head coach Jurica Golemac will travel to Bologna on Tuesday, where they will face Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the 15th round of the group stage of the European Cup on Wednesday at 8.30 pm.

The Ljubljana players will try to record their fifth consecutive victory in the 7DAYS EuroCup in Bologna. The Dragons suffered their last defeat in the European Cup on January 26, when they played against JL Bourg, after which they defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor, ratiopharm Ulm, and in the last week Budućnost VOLI and Promitheas 48 hours apart.

It will be possible to watch the live television broadcast of the match on Šport TV 1.

The already powerful Virtus has strengthened with Daniel Hackett and Tornike Shengelia in light of the turbulent period in Ukraine and Russia. They both moved to Bologna from CSKA, joining Miloš Teodosić, Isaia Cordinier, Niccolo Mannion, Amar Alibegović, Kyle Weems and Marco Belinelli, thus completing the star cast led by Italian strategist Sergio Scariolo. The Italian will not lead from the bench on Wednesday, as he was positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Belinelli will also be out of action for some time due to injury, but in addition to the names listed above, the Bologna team has plenty of other weapons with which Virtus is considered the main favorite to win the 7DAYS EuroCup title.

Nevertheless, the Italian team, which has a rich history, has ‘only’ eight wins and six defeats after 14 matches. In the last five games, Virtus has suffered three defeats, but enters the match with Cedevita Olimpija with victories against Bursaspor (98:94) and Umani Reyer (83:72). The Italian match was the last for Virtus in the European Cup, with Mam Jaiteh shining with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Miloš Teodosić awarded 13 assists.

In the Italian national championship, Virtus has played 20 matches so far and recorded 17 wins. Finally, the basketball players of the Italian team stepped on the floor on Sunday and celebrated a close victory with 85:82 on the road at Fortitudo. With 17 points, the top scorer for Virtus was Hackett, 12 were scored by JaKarr Sampson, and ten were scored by Kevin Hervey.

In the first clash of the season – the teams clashed in Stožice in the sixth round – Virtus celebrated a close victory with a score of 104: 101. At the start of the last quarter, the score was settled at 82:82, and the guests then managed to move away, but the Dragons no longer caught them. In the last seconds of the meeting, Jacob Pullen had a throw to equalize, but unfortunately the ball did not find its way through the ring. In the green-orange team, Yogi Ferrell shone, adding 11 assists with 24 points, while in Virtus, the most efficient basketball player was Miloš Teodosić with 19 points and nine assists.

STATEMENTS AHEAD OF THE GAME

Jurica Golemac, head coach of Cedevita Olimpija:
“Virtus Segafredo Bologna is certainly one of the biggest favorites for the final victory in the 7DAYS EuroCup. Recently, they brought two more players to their ranks, who were, in my opinion, the best players in CSKA. We are definitely facing a challenging match and a great challenge. We want to compete with our opponents, but we will have to do our best. We’re going to have to play physically, we need to run well and not lose balls at the same time, and at the same time we need to close out well to get in a position to make them nervous and maybe surprise.”

Jaka Blažič, captain of Cedevita Olimpija:
“We are facing a match against the favorite to win the 7DAYS EuroCup title, especially if we look at all the reinforcements that have been brought to the ranks of Virtus recently. Our competitors have two players in each playing position, who are among the best in Europe. We can only beat Virtus if our opponents feel uncomfortable, and we can achieve that with physical play in defense. In attack, we have to play focused and patient if we want to get the desired result in the end.”

7DAYS EUROCUP, GROUP B, ROUND 15

Stožice Arena (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Wednesday, March 16, at 20.30:
VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA

STANDINGS