Virtus loses unbeaten streak, Sergio Scariolo relies on leaders

Virtus Bologna – Givova Scafati 77-84: first defeat for the ‘Vu Nere’ in the league

Fresh from the terrible drubbing in Piraeus, where a resounding 117-71 defeat came, Virtus Bologna did not react, losing its first championship game, moreover within the friendly walls of the Virtus Segafredo Arena. The day’s feat is signed by coach Attilio Caja’s Givova Scafati, which capitalized to the fullest on a second quarter in which it rifled a 23-8 partial to the Bologna lineup, then punctually rebuffing the ‘Black Vu’s’ comeback attempts.

Speaking at the press conference after the match, Sergio Scariolo does not make dramas, but admits the difficult moment of his team, already indicating from whom and from what to restart for a prompt reaction. “Kudos to Caja and Scafati, they did a great job preparing for this game during the week and they inserted Okoye who made the difference. We won three out of four quarters, but the only partial we lost we lost really badly, with many lost balls and bad shots that brought easy baskets for Scafati. Finishing 3/12 from inside the area in the first half was important. The ratio of lost balls to assists was deficient: we lacked physicality and lucidity, probably we have not yet recovered mentally from Friday’s blowout,” the coach began.

“There was absolutely no lack of effort and will: we came back into the game several times, but we missed some three-point shots or some free throws that could have changed the inertia and put us ahead. Sometimes we abuse the dribble, sometimes we don’t have the right hands to pass the ball at some junctures: surely the assist figure is the biggest deficit: we need to be able to do better at this stage of the game, 16 turnovers and 8 assists is not a decent proportion. This is the first really difficult moment of the season: I have faced hundreds of them, the players with more leadership skills will step up, the others with humility will have to follow them,” he concluded.