Virtus collapses in Venice in the final and abdicates. Bitter outburst of dg Ronci in press conference

Reyer Venezia flies into the final of the Serie A basketball playoffs after overcoming Virtus Bologna in Game 4 at Taliercio. The Veneti closed the series at 3-1 after winning 90-83 thanks to a resounding last quarter: down by 10, Reyer put up 33 points in the last 10 minutes, catching up and outscoring the Vu Nere, who collapsed in the final. On the heels for Venice were R.J. Cole with 30 points and Tessitori with 22, Virtus was not satisfied with Niang’s 19 points and 17 from Edwards, Morgan and Parks.

Coach Nenad Jakovljevic spoke this way after the defeat: “Congratulations to Reyer for winning this series, for the final they go to play against Milano. They deserved it by playing with more discipline, more physical and mental strength, and focus for 40 minutes. We played well for 33 minutes, then we lost clarity and flow of the game. We simply switched off, both offensively and defensively.”

Virtus general manager Paolo Ronci commented on the Vu Nere’s elimination in the press room, “Let’s postpone the analysis to the next few days. Hot off the press, I can say that we would have liked to play the playoffs at full strength. We lost Pajola to a questionable knee injury. But those things happen in sports. Then we lost Matt Morgan in one of the last games of the regular season to a direct injury; he missed seven games. We lost in the first game of the playoffs Alston Jr, a compound fracture in his hand that needed a lifetime. Then we lost Luca Vildoza to a fluke.”

“We are the team that statistically has these flukes the most, I think, in the world,” Ronci vented. And that’s a little unfortunate, because then the focus has been on Carsen Edwards’ socks or where I look during a timeout, where I’m standing silently inside our technical area with my arms folded, hands in my pockets.”

Ronci then returned to point to the controversy of the past few weeks: “In every playoff you learn something. This year we learned that fracas, and taunts are less important than Edwards’ socks and my look. From defeats you learn, you take lessons. In all that I’ve said, I’m with the thought that having won two Scudetti and three regular seasons with 77 percent wins, four of the last five, with the one we lost to a Treviso-Bologna. Now I think we have done a great thing. To our people, whom I thank for how they supported and followed us, I say that from lessons we learn.”