Virtus Bologna reborn against Venice in Game 2: Nenad Jakovljevic knows why
Virtus Bologna put the disastrous Game 1 of the playoff semifinals behind them by scrambling Reyer Venezia with a 98-79 result in Game 2. It was a nice revenge for the ‘Black Vu’ and their coach Nenad Jakovljevic, who in the postgame did not hide. “Compared to Game 1 we played with more determination, as well as discipline for almost the entire 40 minutes,” he said. “At the team level we managed to be more cohesive and decisive on defense, while on offense we always tried to make one more pass instead of one more dribble.
A reaction that had become absolutely necessary after the heavy 83-91 cashed in Game 1, when Reyer had managed to conquer PalaDozza thanks to a game plan meticulously studied by Orogranata coach Neven Spahija. In that circumstance, Jakovljevic had analyzed the defeat with great self-criticism, pointing out the weak points to work on: too many free throws conceded to the opponents, poor aggressiveness and a pace of play that had favored Venetian counterattacks.
The victory in Game 2 takes on an even more significant flavor when considering the context in which it arrives. The ‘Black Vu’ have to do without Derrick Alston Jr., one of the brightest men in the early stages of the post season: the American underwent surgery for a compound fracture of the third metacarpal of his left hand, making it impossible for him to return in these playoffs. It was a huge loss for Bologna, considering that in the regular season he had traveled at an average of 12.6 points with 57.4 percent from two-point range and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc, in addition to the extraordinary performance of 21 points in just 19 minutes put up in Game 1 against Trento before the injury.
The path that led Virtus to this semifinal was anything but linear. The ‘Black Vu’ had risked elimination in the quarterfinals against Trento, finding themselves down 1-2 in the series before reacting with a victory in Game 4 at the BTS Arena, dragged by Edwards’ 26 points, and then in Game 5 in Bologna. A bumpy road that had tested the physical and mental energies of Jakovljevic’s team, and that had probably weighed on the opaque performance in Game 1 against Venezia.
In the background, the question related to the future of Alessandro Pajola is also holding court. The captain of the ‘Black Vu’, absent in this series against Reyer due to an injury, has let it be known through GM Paolo Ronci that he wants to seek a new sporting adventure after 11 years spent in Bologna. The 26-year-old Italian feels the need to measure himself elsewhere, and his name has been insistently mentioned to Olimpia Milano. The Bologna club, however, would prefer to see him land in a foreign club, so as not to find him in front of them either in the league or possibly in the Euroleague.
