Armani Milano – Virtus Bologna 64-72: avoided suicide and qualified

The semifinals of the Italian Supercoppa offered little spectacle to the crowd, but that matters little for Virtus Bologna as they overcame resistance from Armani Milano (72-64). The black and white made the easy difficult, they almost killed each other, but in the final they were the ones smiling.

Virtus Bologna meets Sassari in the final, which takes place on Thursday 29 September at 21:45.

The race

The game took a sensational turn, although spectacle was minimal, as Virtus Bologna made mistake after mistake in the dying seconds, giving Armani Milano the right to send the game into overtime. And not only that, but ending up losing the chance of winning at 2.5”.

With the Blacks 3 and 2.5” left, Billy Barron won Jordan Mickey’s foul, with the referees indicating it was three shots for Ettore Messina’s team. A decision that infuriated Sergio Scariolo, which resulted in him being handed a technical penalty and allowing the Reds guard to go on the line for four shots.

He scored all three (missing the last one) and so added five extra minutes to the semi-finals in which Virtus Bologna showed character and determination. Together he did everything to achieve victory – qualifying for the Italian Supercoppa final.

THE DECADES: 12-8, 26-22, 38-36, 59-59 (qa), 64-72.

ARMANI MILAN (Messina): Davis 4 (1/5 2-pointers, 0/2 3-pointers, 2/2 shots, 5 rebounds), Thomas 3 (0/3 3-pointers), Mitrou-Long 2 (0/9 shots , 2/2 shots), Tonut 2, Meli 6 (4 rebounds), Baron 12 (2/9 threes), Richie 2, Billiga 1, Halle 19 (4/7 threes), Baldasso 3 (1), Alviti, Hines 10 (4 rebounds).

VIRTUAL BOLOGNA (Scariolo): Magnion 5, Belinelli 4 (0/4 threes), Paiola 2 (5 assists), Bako 10 (9 rebounds), Lundberg 5 (1 threes, 7 rebounds), Miki 13 (5/9 two-pointers, 3/4 shots, 7 rebounds), Kamara 2, Weems 2, Ojeleye 17 (1 3-pointers, 9 rebounds), Cordinier 12.