With seven seconds left in the game, Olimpia protecting a three-point lead, Iffe Lundberg attempted a potentially tying three-pointer that was erased by Nicolò Melli’s huge block. Then somehow Belinelli attempted one more off balance shot and on the ensuing rebound Shabazz Napier pushed the ball on Awudu Abass earning the inbound play that essentially closed the game 81-78. Olimpia defeated Bologna and took a 2-1 lead in the bets-of-five championship series. Game 4 is again Milan on Thursday night. “It was a tough game, we heva been able to stay there mentally, possession after possession. It was a monumental effort by our players. I’m proud of it,” Coach Ettore Messina said. The he added: “However, we led for 40 minutes with a couple of exceptions.” Bologna led 9-8 in the first, then momentarily by one on a Bryant Dunston hook shot early in the third. Olimpia led the rest of the night, although by never than seven points.
It was hard-fought game entirely. Olimpia built itself a lot of open looks but three-point shooting was not meant to be in this game. At the end it was a 6-for-24 ice cold night, but Olimpia made up for this because of its defense. Bologna attacked the switches feeding the ball inside, especially to Jordan Mickey (17 points, 6-for-8 from the field, 5-for-6 from the line), but Olimpia eliminated most of Virtus’ three-point shooting in the second half. Offensively, the ball was moved efficiently. “We entered quickly into the plays and we moved the ball more, we had 15 assists despite not shooting well, percentage-wise,” Messina remarked. Nikola Mirotic was great inside, scoring 21 points including the crucial free throws late in the game, a 2-for-2 that extended the lead to three points, before Bologna’s last attempt. Shavon Shields didn’t find his rhythm shooting the ball but he was all over the floor (15 points. 7-for-8 from the line).
However, in order to win the game, Olimpia had to find a lot of help on the bench. Diego Faccadori had a huge first half. He tore the game apart momentarily in the second quarter with a three, a mid-range pull-up jumper and finally a three-point play following a mid-court steal. He finshed with 12 points. Then, in the fourth quarter, Shabazz Napier took the game over. Bologna decided to keep him from shooting threes and he took advantage of mismatches attacking the rim and scoring in a variety of ways. He had a three-point first half, but scored nine in the fourth to go along with six assists. Olimpia attempted to get away for good several times in the second half. Virtus never gave up, kept staying close to the end. Finally, after Mirotic timely free throws, Nik Melli who had a fantastic game defensively on Tornike Shengelia made a dfeensive play for the ages. “Defensively he covered everybody and everything. Offensively, he helped to keep moving the ball, rolled hard and well. It was a great game for him,” Messina said looking at the siix points and nine rebounds.
