Virtus Bologna knocked out without Matt Morgan: Nenad Jakovljevic’s explanation
Virtus Bologna falls 84-87 at home against Trento, at the end of a game marked by Matt Morgan’s absence on the court in the fourth quarter. A decision on which inevitably Nenad Jakovljevic had to provide explanations at the end of the game. “The question is more than legitimate,” admitted the coach of the Emilians. “His game was very good, but after more than a month out. He came from only one training session with contacts, I felt more comfortable sending fully fit players on the field. His performance was good, and he probably could have played the last quarter. But right now, the health of each individual is as important as winning.”
“If we lost Game 2, it was because of a lack of discipline,” Jakovljevic, on the other hand, said. “We were then not very aggressive on defense, as well as not very careful in the one-on-ones. Just in the one-on-ones Trento scored over 30 points, Virtus Bologna will be able to come back to win only by taking the court with their same aggressiveness. Now we will study our mistakes to return to the court facing Game 3 at their home with a different face.”
The defeat in Game 2 comes at an already complicated time for the V Nere, struggling with a very heavy absence. Derrick Alston Jr, who scored 21 points in 19 minutes in the Game 1 win, suffered a compound fracture of the third metacarpal in his left hand and his return in this post season appears virtually impossible. This season the American had been traveling at an average of 12.6 points with 57.4 percent from two and 42.4 percent from distance, numbers that make his forfeit at the most important time of the year even heavier.
On the other hand, Trento is celebrating with great pride. Coach Massimo Cancellieri extolled his team’s mentality after the game: “We went into the series understanding what it meant. To play it we needed something different, both physically and in terms of attitude. And I believe that the pride we have, others should have towards us.” The coach added, “We reacted with pride, because we know how to do that. We showed that we know how to do it after all the great difficulties that Trent has faced throughout the season at the level of the group, the team, the staff.”
The victory in Game 2 overturns a series that seemed already headed after the net 102-71 cashed in Game 1, and it takes on an even more special flavor if one considers the path taken by this Trento team: the bianconeri had snatched eighth place on the last day of the regular season, beating Olimpia Milano 84-74, while Openjobmetis Varese succumbed at home against the same Virtus Bologna. By virtue of favorable matchups, Dolomiti Energia had thus celebrated access to the postseason, crowning an extraordinary comeback in the season finale.
The series now moves to Trentino: Game 3 is scheduled for May 22, followed by Game 4 on May 24. The eventual bella would be set for May 26 in Bologna. Matches that could also be Cancellieri’s last on the Aquila Basket bench: CEO Andrea Nardelli revealed that back in February the coach had already communicated his decision not to renew at the end of the season, with his name being mentioned by clubs from Turkey, Greece and Spain. An announced farewell, then, that makes every match in this series even more loaded with meaning for everyone. Even for Matt Morgan, whose future at Virtus is anything but a foregone conclusion: the black-and-white guard’s contract is expiring and, according to BasketNews reports, EuroLeague clubs such as Zalgiris Kaunas and Paris Basketball have already expressed concrete interest in signing him in the summer.
