For the fourth time this season, the two teams with the most Italian titles will face off in a major clash. Olimpia leads the season series 2-1, but Virtus won the last game, and since the first game ended in overtime, it’s clear how close the game could be. Another EuroLeague battle will take place in ten days. Olimpia won the game in Milan by 11 points. However, the head-to-head points differential shouldn’t have much of an impact on the strategy, as Virtus has a two-win margin, so a win would likely build a decisive advantage inthe standings. Olimpia enters this game off an Italian Cup triumph, the second title of the season, and 10 wins in its last 12 games overall, or 13 of its last 15 games in Italy. Moreover, yesterday Olimpia beat Maccabi, scoring 96 points and producing a top-level game that continues to keep the chances of making the EuroLeague postseason alive. The downside is that Olimpia’ll be playing less than 48 hours after the last EuroLeague battle, with little chance to recover physically and mentally, and a bus trip to further weigh on the legs. As a fact, Olimpia faces the top two teams in the two competitions within a five days span, first Bologna and then Fenerbahce. Meanwhile, it’s possible that Ousmane Diop will return to the rotation after the injury he sustained in Turin during the Italian Cup quarterfinals.
Virtus Olidata Bologna-EA7 Emporio Armani Milano is scheduled to be played on Sunday, March 15th, at 20:00 in Bologna.
COACH ALBERTO SERAVALLI – “Virtus is a team we know well, with a distinct style of play and identity that translates into a high level of aggressiveness and defensive physicality, which then leads to a very effective offesive game based on two great scorers such as Edwards and Morgan. Overall, they’re a team that plays cohesively, shares the ball, and is efficient at rebounding the ball. To win, we’ll need to play with great energy, focus, and consistency, both offensively, selecting our shots carefully, and defensively, especially by paying attention to our transition game and their offensive rebounders.”
BOLOGNA OUTLOOK – Virtus’ star player is obviously Carsen Edwards, who ranks among the EuroLeague’s top five scorers, and won the leading scorer last year while at Bayern Munich. In the Italian league, with an average of 24.4 minutes on the court, he’s averaging 14.8 points per game on 31.6 percent three-point shooting on 7.6 attempts. A physical player, also very strong in attacking the paint and finishing, Edwards dishes 3.8 assists per game. Another scorer is Matt Morgan, in his second year in Bologna. A very quick player who can play two positions, he’s playing 18.3 minutes per game, usually coming off the bench. He’s averaging 12.9 points on 33.0 percent three-point shooting and 59.5 percent from two. The other guards are all doubtful due to various injuries: Luca Vildoza (7.5 points and 4.2 assists per game, 60.5 percent shooting from two) got injured in the EuroLeague loss to Partizan; Daniel Hackett (3.7 points per game) is close to returning; Alessandro Pajola (6.5 points and 4.9 assists per game, 38.6 percent from three) underwent surgery and is certain to be out. Two players from the Under 19 team, Matteo Accorsi and Matteo Baiocchi, have already received minutes with the first team. The forward group is very strong. Karim Jallow is a physical player who can also play as a power forward. He’s averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, shooting 62.5 percent from two and 37.5 percent from three. Saliou Niang is a player with great athleticism and defensive skills who is averaging 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, including 2.3 offensive rebounds. Niang is shooting 67.8 percent from two while rarely shooting from outside. Francesco Ferrari, who arrived in Bologna from second division’s Cividale during the season, had a great game in Naples last week. Overall, he’s averaging 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Another two-position player, Nicola Akele, averages 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game and is a dangerous offensive rebounder. The starting power forward is Derrick Alston, a long-range shooting specialist (43.0 percent from three on 4.5 attempts) who averages 11.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Alston also shoots 56.4 percent from two, but attempts more shots from the outside than from inside the arc. The centers are Momo Diouf (7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in less than 20 minutes on the court), who has to be considered the national team’s starting center at this point. He has size and a great touch near the basket (61.8 percent from two). The other two centers are Alen Smailagic (8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds, 39.4 percent from three), who has some perimeter skills, and Aliou Diarra (5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in less than 13 minutes on the floor), the starter for the Mali national team. If Vildoza were available, Virtus would likely use only one of the two foreign centers available to Coach Dusko Ivanovic.
THE BOLOGNA CONNECTION – Giampaolo Ricci played for Virtus Bologna for two seasons, winning the 2021 Italian league championship as captain. Daniel Hackett played for Milan for two years, winning the 2014 Italian league championship. Peppe Poeta played for Virtus Bologna from 2010 to 2013.
