Virtus, Jakovljevic’s first words. Vildoza warns teammates

New Virtus Bologna coach Nenad Jakovljevic has held his first training sessions at the helm of the Vu Nere after taking over from Dusko Ivanovic: the new head coach spoke on the eve of the Euroleague game against Paris Basketball, where the entire roster will be available apart from Alessandro Pajola.

“We return to PalaDozza with a very positive memory of the games played there at the beginning of the season. A very atypical team awaits us, in that they play in an extremely fast way, with many possessions and many points in transition and counterattacks, also making the most of the one-on-ones in the open court,” are the Serbian’s first words as a head coach.

“Much of Tuesday’s outcome will depend on our defensive transitions, our one-on-one defenses and above all on our ability to protect the basket by going strong in box-outs to allow us to recover rebounds. As for the other half of the court, we want to control the pace by playing not only in transition but also by managing possessions and trying to control as much as possible the progress of the game,” are the words reported by the official website of Virtus.

At the eve press conference, Argentine Luca Vildoza also spoke: “It will definitely be a tough game, also because they are a team that plays well, despite their position in the standings. In fact, Paris plays at an intense pace and is complicated to play against.
We are called to change face, especially after this series of defeats and the coach’s exoneration.”

“So we have to show a different face and prove our real value, with the awareness and pride for the society we represent.”