The quarter final game is in the books. Its 21st game facing Virtus Bologna over the last five seasons was the one that Olimpia dominated more than any other else. After a close start, the first attempt to get away was stopped but not the second. A 27-point second quarter opened up a significant gap of 14 points that in the entire second half was never threatened. “We played a complete game, offense and defense,” Coach Ettore Messina pointed out after the 91-77 final score. Bologna was held 6-for-20 from three-point territory while Olimpia made 14 threes, Pippo Ricci, Diego Flaccadori and Stefano Tonut combined for 6-for-8 from long distance. “It was important that everybody gave us something. Flaccadori’s game was big, he didn’t make mistakes, he had a quality effort,” Messina added.

Shavon Shields set the tone early. He made two threes in the opnening minutes and never stopped in his 19-point and four-assist big night. When Virtus went all out early in the third quarter, with a drive and another three Shields pushed back Bologna and never had to look back. Leandro Bomaro was all over the floor (10 points, a great defensive effort on Belinelli and Holiday) and Neno Dimitrijevic played with great confidence. His 10-point first half was decisive in opening up the margin. He looked confident and determined finishing with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Obviously Zach LeDay was there too. With Freddie Gillespie plagued by foul trouble, he grabbed seven rebounds, all of the defensive, and finished with 16 points. His back-to-back corner threes and another short jumper in the second half enlarged the lead over 20 points. His night was not perfect, he missed a couple of free throws and a couple of mid-ranger jumpers, just to remind that he set the bar very high in terms of expectations.

Finally, there was Nikola Mirotic: he returned after three weeks out and was a little off in his his shooting rhythm but used all the experience that he has to work productively inside, to move the ball off double-teams. Finally, it was definitely a very successful return. “We knew he couldn’t play more than 15-16 minutes, but we were very careful how we did things,” Messina added. Olimpia will return to the court on Saturday, facing Brescia in the semifinal game.