Virtus Bologna, fourth straight EuroLeague win: For Mumbrú, the secret to the “Vu nere’s” success lies off the court

Virtus Bologna secured its fourth consecutive EuroLeague victory (sixth in a row including the domestic league) on Friday night, defeating Baskonia—led by new head coach Velimir Perasovic—by a score of 86-78 (Carr 20, Diarra 16), holding off the visitors’ comeback attempt in the fourth quarter (from a 17-point lead to a tie, before a decisive 12-4 run by the Vu nere). At the press conference, Bologna’s coach, Alex Mumbrú, identified the keys to success even off the court.

“I know I’m repeating myself, but the atmosphere created by our fans for the entire forty minutes was truly fantastic, especially in the closing moments when Baskonia closed the gap,” said the Catalan coach. “I also want to sincerely thank the medical staff and the physical therapists for their exceptional work: they got us back on our feet just forty-eight hours after our last game.”

“We got off to a great start in the first half, but then, unfortunately, we lost some of our rhythm, holding onto the ball too much with dribbles instead of moving it around with passes. In the end, though, we got the win, and I’m really happy,” Mumbrú added. “We still have a lot of areas to work on and improve, but doing so after a win makes everything easier.”

“Today, for example, our legs felt heavy, and we need to learn to manage the court better even under these conditions. Our style of play requires a lot of energy; we’ll try to stick to this approach throughout the season,” concluded the Virtus coach, whose team now faces a league match against Scafati, scheduled for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at home.