Final Eight Coppa Italia, Milan dominates Virtus Bologna

Final Eight Coppa Italia, Milan dominates Virtus Bologna

In the second quarterfinal of the Italian Cup Final Eight at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, EA7 Emporio Armani Milano beats eternal rivals Virtus Segafredo Bologna 91-77, now in the semifinals it will face Germani Brescia on Saturday.

Balanced first quarter, with a maximum +3 lead for the V Nere and Olimpia leading 20-18 at the end of the first ten minutes. In the second quarter the Italian champions took the lead reaching +16 just before the long intermission, ending ahead 47-33.

The lead expanded in the third quarter until it reached +19. 71-53 the score when the last ten minutes remained, at the beginning of which came the maximum lead, +21, and the rest of the match had little history as Virtus attempted a comeback that proved impossible.

For Milan 19 points by Shavon Shields, for Bologna 20 by Mouhamet Rassoul Diouf. These are the words of the two coaches at the end of the match.

Ettore Messina (Olimpia Milano): “We played a complete game both in defense and offense. Against a loaded team after the good win in Tortona. We had lost to them at home, the guys played a game of great focus and discipline, knowing that Nikola could not give us more than 15 minutes. Now we must not listen to those who tell us that this was the anticipated final, becauseé it è not so;. On Saturday we will be up against a very organized team, which we beat hard in the league”.

Dusko Ivanovic (Virtus Bologna): “Congratulations to Olimpia Milano, they played better. In games like this you need to make few mistakes. In the second half especially they played very well, they shot with a lot of confidence and you can see it from the shooting percentages. Were we not at our best physically? No, no problem. Milan è was better in the approach to the game. Diouf? In a game like that you shouldn’t talk about individuals. What do we take with us? I told his team that we will win the scudetto”.