Nenad Jakovljevic is not content and continues to fear Trent
Despite the very clear 102-71 trimmed in Trento in Game 1 of the playoffs, Virtus Bologna does not want to be satisfied. Stating this in no uncertain terms is coach Nenad Jakovljevic, who, along with congratulating his team on the victory achieved, pointed out in the postgame what he did not like on Sunday night and what the ‘Black Vu’s’ next steps should be in the continuation of the series.
“We won Game 1, but tomorrow is another day and we’ll have to use it to immediately think about Game 2,” Jakovljevic said in the press room. “Tonight we did well, getting a team win with 24 assists, which shows our collective game that allowed us to find open shots. This Virtus Bologna, however, can still improve on something. In the first 4 or 5 minutes of the third quarter we stopped being disciplined, and this should not happen again. Also because Trento is a team that knows how to punish the dead minutes of the opponents.”
On the other side of the court, coach Massimo Cancellieri lucidly analyzed the difficulties shown by his team, but without raising the white flag. “I told the team that it’s a series, and our task is to impact it,” the Dolomiti Energia coach explained.
Then it’s one thing to prepare such a game on screen, it’s another to take the court suffering the physicality of Virtus Bologna. There are ways to cope with the physicality of opponents, but tonight Trento failed to find them. They were laced up, so much so that they were able to let everyone score. I think it was a special game for Virtus Bologna.” A hot topic in the Trento household also concerns the condition of DeVante’ Jones: “He doesn’t have just one problem, he has two,” Cancellieri admitted.
We have to evaluate his use on a game-by-game basis, even if he gave us 10 or 15 minutes at point guard like he did in Milan, that would be something crucial for us.”
It is worth mentioning that Trento’s very presence in these playoffs has been anything but a foregone conclusion. The bianconeri snatched eighth place on the last day of the regular season, beating Olimpia Milano 84-74 thanks to Bayehe’s 14 points, while Openjobmetis Varese succumbed at home against the same Virtus Bologna. By virtue of favorable head-to-head matchups, Trento thus celebrated access to the postseason, crowning an extraordinary comeback in the season finale.
The context of the series fits into a playoff picture that sees Virtus Bologna clearly favored even according to the oddsmakers: the ‘Black Vu’ ended the regular season in first place with 23 wins out of 28 and the best defense in the league, with a final haul of 46 points, four more than second-place Germani Brescia. Should they pass the round, Jakovljevic’s team would face the winner of the series between Reyer Venezia and Bertram Tortona in the semifinals.
Not less relevant is the corporate context surrounding this series. On the Cancellieri front, the split with Dolomiti Energia had been in the air for months: as revealed by the club’s CEO Andrea Nardelli, it was the coach himself who announced in February his decision not to renew the relationship at the end of the season. With his name being mentioned by clubs in Turkey, Greece, and Spain, Cancellieri seems intent on returning abroad, where he has previously coached Limoges, Strasbourg, and PAOK Thessaloniki. Each game in this series could therefore be the last of his adventure on the Aquila Basket bench.
The next date is set for Tuesday, May 19, again at PalaDozza, for Game 2. The series will then move to Trentino for Games 3 and 4, scheduled for May 22 and 24, respectively, with the eventual bella set for May 26 in Bologna. Jakovljevic and his team will therefore have little time to hone details and correct the flaws highlighted in the third quarter of Game 1, before returning to the court to try to take another decisive step toward the semifinals.
