Virtus Segafredo Bologna grabbed its third consecutive win in Group B of the 7DAYS EuroCup by downing Promitheas Patras 91-72 at home on Wednesday. Virtus improved to 5-2 in the standings and a share of the top spot in the group, while Promitheas fell to 2-5.
Virtus dumps Promitheas for third straight win, 91-72
Kyle Weems led the winners with 18 points and Amar Alibegovic added 14 for a balanced Virtus attack. Jerai Grant paced Promitheas with 15 points and Dario Hunt added 14. The game was tied, 43-43, at halftime before Alibegovic, Marco Belinelli and Michele Ruzzier fueled a 22-2 run that broke the game open late in the third quarter. Little changed after that and Virtus sealed the outcome long before the final buzzer.
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Weems needed just 4 seconds to get Virtus going with a dunk. Alessandro Pajola soon added a layup for a 4-0 lead. Grant stepped up with a three-point play and Nikolaos Gkikas added a triple to tie it at 6-6. Jaiteh hit a jump hook, igniting a 10-2 run in which Teodosic and Weems each struck from downtown to give the hosts a 16-8 margin. Kendrick Ray made a jumper, Isaiah Miles bettered Alibegovic's layup with a triple and Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos added a three-point play to bring Promitheas within 18-16. Weems and Jaiteh combined for 7 points in a 9-0 run that Jakarr Sampson capped with a dunk for a double-digit Virtus lead 27-16. Agravanis and Giannopoulos brought the guests within 27-23 after 10 minutes.
Amedeo Tessitori dunked early in the second quarter but Dario Hunt got Promitheas even closer, 29-27. Belinelli buried a three-pointer and, after Hunt scored in the paint, Jaiteh answered with a layup for a 35-29 Virtus lead. Gaddy scored in penetration and a red-hot Hunt followed a put-back layup with a dunk to tie it at 35-35. Tessitori kept pushing Virtus. Miles and Teodosic traded three-pointers and Gaddy sank a jumper to get within 41-40. Grant buried a mid-range jumper and Rogkavopoulos tied it again, 43-43, at halftime.
Grant's put-back slam gave Promitheas its first lead, 43-45, right after the break. Alibegovic answered from downtown and Teodosic found Weems for a dunk and a 48-45 Virtus lead. Grant followed a layup with a jump hook and then fed Agravanis for a close basket that made it 48-51. Alibegovic followed a layup with a three-pointer in a 7-0 run that gave the hosts fresh air at 55-51. Gkikas stepped up with a fastbreak layup but Belinelli did better with a triple and Sampson scored twice in the paint for a 62-53 Virtus margin. Belinelli buried a big triple and Ruzzier boosted the margin to 70-53, after a 22-2 run. Ray's triple fixed the score at 70-56 after 30 minutes.
Sampson buried a floater early in the fourth quarter. Grant tried to change things for Promitheas but Ty-Shon Alexander swished a triple that kept Virtus way ahead, 75-58, with 6 minutes remaining. Hunt dunked again and Gkikas added a wild three-point play that gave Promitheas hope at 77-63. Alibegovic banked in a jump hook and Weems added a fast break slam that sealed the outcome, 81-63. Promitheas never gave up, but the Virtus fans in the stands had plenty of time to celebrate a comfortable home victory.