Two wins in three games - both victories coming in close battles - could be exactly what Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach Dusko Ivanovic, who believes the Italian side still has a strong season ahead of it, needed

New Virtus boss Ivanovic: 'This was what we needed'

[Virtus Segafredo Bologna](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/virtus-segafredo-bologna/roster/vir/?season=2024-25) opponents beware - the Black V just might be back. Two wins in three games - both victories coming in close battles - could be exactly what the doctor ordered. The doctor in this case is new head coach [Dusko Ivanovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/virtus-segafredo-bologna/vir/ivanovic-dusko/?season=E2024), who believes the Italian side still has a strong season ahead of it.

Virtus crossed the midway mark of the regular season with just a 4-13 record - five victories from 10th place, where the club finished last season to earn a spot in the Play-In Showdown. But Ivanovic has helped the club to a 2-1 mark since taking over the team starting in Round 15.

Win number two under Ivanovic was an impressive [86-81 back-and-forth battle](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/virtus-battles-past-barcelona-86-81-in-first-home-game-under-ivanovic/) over [FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/roster/bar/?season=2024-25) - Virtus's first home game with Ivanovic on the sidelines.

Game Videos

"I’m happy because tonight we played good defense. We made some mistakes but we never gave up. We believed and we had the energy we needed for 40 minutes," said the 67-year-old Montenegro coach. "This game demonstrated that they have character. They have good energy."

Ivanovic has plenty of experience to help Virtus; he led [Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/bas/?season=2024-25) to Spanish championships in 2002, 2010 and 2020, Spanish Cups in 2002, 2004 and 2009 and reached the EuroLeague Finals in 2001 and the EuroLeague Championship Game in 2005. Ivanovic has now coached 402 EuroLeague games - fourth most in history - and he thinks highly of his new team.

"I believe in these guys. This is the reason I am here. Because I believe they can win something this year. We will fight for this," he said. 

Ivanovic might actually just be the lucky beneficiary of Virtus finally breaking through. The team was playing pretty solid basketball but just could not win games late. Through the first 13 games of the season, Virtus suffered seven losses by 5 points or fewer, including five by a single basket. 

The last of those was [Virtus's 88-90 home loss](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/alba-beats-virtus-in-ot-88-90/) to ALBA Berlin after which head coach Luca Banchi called it quits and resigned. The team was dead last in the standings with a 2-11 record. 

Game News

Enter Ivanovic, who could not coach the team in Round 14 and then helped Virtus to [an 81-82 thrilling win at Baskonia](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/clyburn-saves-virtus-81-82-at-baskonia-to-give-ivanovic-victory-in-debut/) in an emotional return to Buesa Arena. A [10-point loss at Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/olympiacos-sinks-virtus-87-77-thanks-to-strong-second-half/) followed to start the double round week before Virtus surprised Barcelona without leading scorer and rebounder [Toko Shengelia](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tornike-shengelia/001133/).

"This is what they needed before. They were playing good, but lost seven games by 5 points or fewer. This energy can change things," said Ivanovic. 

Both victories under Ivanovic came with key players coming up clutch - [Will Clyburn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/will-clyburn/004888/) against Baskonia and now [Isaia Cordinier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/isaia-cordinier/009549/) versus Barcelona. 

"The most important thing for us is fighting - getting back to passion, fight and togetherness," said Cordinier, who set career highs with 24 points and an index rating of 38. “In our position, we are just trying to get back to standards. The easiest way to win a game is to play defense."

After losing those seven tight games, Virtus has now won back-to-back nail biters. And that famous Black V just might be back. 

Dusko Ivanovic has helped Virtus to two wins in three games and believes more will come 

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v FC Barcelona (2024-12-20T19:00:00.000Z)

EuroLeague top photos of the week

Look back at all the action from Round 16 and 17 of the regular season by checking out the best photos of the week!

Top 10 photos of the week: Rounds 16 and 17

With a perennial EuroLeague powerhouse in town, Isaia Cordinier had a career performance to lead Virtus Segafredo Bologna to an 86-81 win over the visiting FC Barcelona, earning Round 17 MVP honors in the process.

Round 17 MVP: Isaia Cordinier, Virtus Segafredo Bologna

With a perennial EuroLeague powerhouse in town, [Isaia Cordinier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/isaia-cordinier/009549/) had a career performance to lead Virtus Segafredo Bologna to an 86-81 win over the visiting FC Barcelona, earning Round 17 MVP honors in the process.

Cordinier posted a PIR of 38, the highest in Round 17 and a career high, by scoring a career-best 24 points on 5-of-6 two-point and 2-of-5 three-point shooting. He also had 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and drew 8 fouls. This is the first MVP accolade of his career, and the first time a Virtus player has been MVP of the Round in more than a year.

The next best index rating belongs to Anadolu Efes Istanbul’s [Ercan Osmani](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ercan-osmani/012710/), who also had a career night with a career-best 29 PIR. In an 86-77 win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, Osmani posted a personal-best 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) recorded a 28 PIR after leading Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to a resounding 104-69 win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, as he had 26 points on 6-of-12 three-point shooting, 9 assists and 4 steals. Three players had a PIR 26 this round: Partizan's [Tyrique Jones](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tyrique-jones/011981/), Real Madrid's [Dzanan Musa](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/dzanan-musa/006540/) and Baskonia's [Chima Moneke](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/chima-moneke/012201/). Jones amassed 23 points and 5 rebounds in a loss against Efes, Moneke had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in a loss against Panathinaikos, while Musa led Real to a 94-72 win over AS Monaco with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

 

**Individual highs: Aleksej Pokusevski, Partizan, 6 blocks**

 

Nunn led all players in this round with 26 points. [Carsen Edwards](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/carsen-edwards/011987/) of FC Bayern Munich leads the league with 20.7 points per game, ahead of Nunn's 20.2 average. 

[Jaylen Hoard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jaylen-hoard/006835/) of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and [Ante Zizic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ante-zizic/004554/) of Virtus each had 11 rebounds in this round. [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) of Real is the EuroLeague's top rebounder, averaging 7.9 per game.

Bayern point guard [Nick Weiler-Babb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-weiler-babb/010391/) had 12 assists, more than any other player in Round 17. Maccabi's [Tamir Blatt](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tamir-blatt/011193/) averages a league-best 8.6 assists.

Nunn's 4 steals were the most by any player this round. Weiler-Babb tops the steals charts with 1.6 per game.

[Aleksej Pokusevski](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/aleksej-pokusevski/008232/) of Partizan set a season high with 6 blocks. Tavares leads the league with 1.5 blocks per game.

There were four double-doubles in Round 17: Efes guard [Darius Thompson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/darius-thompson/011078/) (11 points, 11 assists), Weiler-Babb (10 points, 12 assists), Hoard (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Zizic (12 points, 11 rebounds).

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 17th winner in this season's EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! Georgios Hatziantoniou beat everyone else in Round 17 with their team 'xatzh4', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 213.60.

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 17 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 17th winner in this season's [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Georgios Hatziantoniou beat everyone else in Round 17 with their team 'xatzh4', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 213.60.

Georgios had the following starting lineup: Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens as captain, then Olympiacos Piraeus's Sasha Vezenkov, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade's Tyrique Jones, FC Barcelona's Kevin Punter, as well as Theo Maledon of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. His sixth man was Sylvain Francisco of Zalgiris Kaunas. On the bench, Georgios had Anadolu Efes Istanbul's Ercan Osmani and Salih Altuntas, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis of Panathinaikos and Giampaolo Ricci of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. His team's head coach was Panathinaikos play-caller Ergin Ataman.

The prize for finishing first in Round 17 is a free VIP Euroleague TV subscription for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Georgios!

Marko Dukic and his team 'Kughat' remains the leader of the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/) overall standings with 2,931.39 points.

Trades are now open for Round 18, and all fantasy players are allowed unlimited trades.

The first game in Round 18 tips off on Thursday, December 26, as ALBA Berlin hosts Real Madrid and AS Monaco welcomes Anadolu Efes Istanbul, with both games tipping off at 19:00 CET. That game marks the next round's deadline.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager. 

FC Bayern Basketball broke a four-game road losing streak in Round 17 by downing Olimpia Milano 78-79, and Nick Weiler-Babb had to do a lot with it.

Nick Weiler-Babb set the tone again for Bayern at Unipol Forum

[FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-bayern-munich/mun/) broke a four-game road losing streak in Round 17 [by downing EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 78-79](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/bayern-grabs-long-awaited-road-win-at-milan-78-79/), and [Nick Weiler-Babb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-weiler-babb/010391/) had to do a lot with it.

Weiler-Babb was the catalyst of a 6-24 opening run in which he did a little bit of everything. In the first 8 minutes of the contest, he had 7 points, 4 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 14. 

The 29-year-old ended up playing almost 29 minutes, finished the game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals and a PIR of 25. Weiler-Babb also hit the go-ahead free throw, fixing the final score, 78-79, with 11.8 seconds left.

When [Shavon Shields](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/shavon-shields/007831/) missed a jump hook in front of him and [Devin Booker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/devin-booker/007056/) grabbed the rebound, Weiler-Babb went to celebrate with his teammates on the bench.

It is not the first time that Bayern wins when Weiler-Babb plays well or shares the ball the way he did against Milan. Bayern is 4-0 this season when the Germany international dishes 7 assists or more, and 4-1 when he gets a PIR of at least 20. 

In his fifth Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with Bayern, Weiler-Babb is posting better numbers than ever. Last season, he averaged 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a PIR of 7.4. This season, Weiler-Babb boosted all of his numbers to 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals and a PIR of 13.4.

Nick Weiler-Babb of FC Bayern Munich had 10 points and 12 assists in a 78-79 road win against EA/ Emporio Armani Milan.

Weiler-Babb posts double-double in Milan

Above all, Bayern returned to winning ways on the road, as Weiler-Babb said after the game.

"It was ugly, I will tell you that much. We started off the game really well, but we came back together after a bad second quarter and fought. We fought hard until the end. We needed a big win on the road, too," Weiler-Babb said after the game. "We came together at halftime in the locker room, talked about what we needed to improve on, and then we just stuck together, kept the pace up."

As always this season, [Carsen Edwards](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/carsen-edwards/011987/) and [Devin Booker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/devin-booker/007056/) were really solid at Unipol Forum. Edwards finished the game with 25 points. Booker added 23 and 7 rebounds.

"A win is a win. We have had some ups and downs in this game, but I think it's important that we got this win no matter how it was," Edwards said. "As a team, we just try to focus on getting stops and staying together. I think when you are on the road like this, obviously they are going to get their runs and everything, especially a good team like this. We just got to stay together and try to get stops."

Bayern remains undefeated at the brand new SAP Garden and hosts defending champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in its final Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game in 2024.

His all-around game allowed the visitors to grab their 11th win


EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v FC Bayern Munich (2024-12-20T20:00:00.000Z)

Joel Bolomboy, in his second game since returning from injury, was pivotal as KK Crvena zvezda get back to winning ways with a Round 17 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv BC.

Healthy Bolomboy showed how he means for Crvena Zvezda

It was an up-and-down first half of the regular season for [Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/crvena-zvezda-meridianbet-belgrade/red/), but after its [91-83 win over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/bolomboy-yago-lead-crvena-zvezda-past-maccabi-81-73/) on Friday, the team sits with a winning 9-8 record

In the first half it seemed as though Zvezda could enter cruise control as it held a 48-33 lead, but this is the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague – and Maccabi started the third quarter with a 0-17 run.

Asked if he remembers such a bad five-minute period from his team, coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos was honest.

"I don't remember. It must not happen again," he said. "We lost our concentration, and we must not give up when things don't go our way."

However, Zvezda had two players who came to save the day in playmaker [Yago dos Santos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/yago-dos-santos/012044/) and, even more importantly, center [Joel Bolomboy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/joel-bolomboy/009035/).

"This was Joel's best game since he came back from injury," Sfairopoulos said, after Bolomboy finished with 17 points on 8-of-11 two-point shooting, 6 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end, and 2 blocks.

"I think we understood how much we missed Bolomboy in this month and a half that he has been out," Sfairopoulos stated.

The big man finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end, and had 2 blocks.

Joel Bolomboy led Zvezda against Maccabi

For Bolomboy, getting back on the basketball court is simply a great feeling.

"I missed it a lot," he said in a post-game interview with EuroLeague TV. "It was a long two months. Thankfully, I did not need surgery, but rehab was rehab. I was on crutches for three weeks and had a brace, could not even walk normal, so to be here to be playing, winning, is a huge win for me, personally."

Bolomboy, who returned on Wednesday after missing 11 games, played 29 minutes against Maccabi.

"My conditioning is not back to what is used to be – a couple of times I was really gassed. But I played through those times, my conditioning will come."

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="sr" dir="ltr">🗣️<a href="https://twitter.com/joelbolomboy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@joelbolomboy</a> “Имали смо пад у трећој четвртини, али смо успели да победимо!”🔴⚪️💪🏻<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kkcz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kkcz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTheTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreTheTeam</a> <a href="https://t.co/StpYPUEyd2">pic.twitter.com/StpYPUEyd2</a></p>&mdash; KK Crvena zvezda Meridianbet (@kkcrvenazvezda) <a href="https://twitter.com/kkcrvenazvezda/status/1870244625312555100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The big man helped the team get back to winning ways and remove a bitter taste the team had after playing a bad second half in [a 21-point loss against Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/efes-fights-back-to-blast-zvezda-89-67/) just 48 hours later.

And it got Zvezda back to a winning record, something that Sfairopoulos thinks should please all Zvezda fans.

"\[Our record\] could have been better, we lost some games in the end, but we won some games that nobody expected we could win, like in Monaco and at Fenerbahce," said the Greek tactician.

"We must walk on the Earth, we cannot fly. We fight really hard, we try to build something good, step by step. There is no magic stick."

Just two wins away from first place, and with a healthy starting center who has such an important role, Zvezda has positioned itself nicely as it enters the second half of the regular season.

The big man finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end, and 2 blocks

Healthy Bolomboy showed how much he means for Crvena Zvezda

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-12-20T19:30:00.000Z)

In a game that was a lot tighter than Olympiacos BC would have liked, the Reds managed to down ALBA Berlin late on and are now hoping to learn lessons from this victory.

Olympiacos avoided a banana skin against battling ALBA 

[Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/) was pushed to the limit in [a tight 90-85 home win over ALBA Berlin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/olympiacos-digs-deep-to-edge-alba-90-85/) in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, with the home team prevailing thanks to the raw individual quality of its top performers, namely [Evan Fournier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/evan-fournier/013380/) and [Moustapha Fall](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/moustapha-fall/008811/).

Big man Fall was named the player of the game after a monster performance in only his second game back from injury, racking up 18 points, 5 boards and 3 assists as he dominated the paint at both ends of the court.

Fall was perfect from the floor, 9 of 9, as most of his baskets were slam dunks while he also dished out some sublime assists to his teammates which put an icing on the cake of a stellar display.   

"It’s a good feeling to be back and help the team win," Fall said in his post-game comments. "Individual performances don’t matter, but it’s always nice to have a good game like that. We had to fight through and find a way to win, so we stayed together and kept playing hard," he added.

Fournier paced Olympiacos with a game-high 23 points, although he had a patchy shooting night from deep, making 4 of 10 from downtown and 3 of 6 from inside. The Frenchman stepped up when the chips were down, however, and scored a pair of crucial two-pointers, forcing the decisive 8-0 Olympiacos streak in the final minute.

A relieved Fournier was anything but complacent after the outcome. "It would have been a bad loss and we have to play better," he said. "We have too many ups and downs. We have big ambitions this season and we have to fix that."

Head coach Georgios Bartzokas also acknowledged that his players would be ill-advised to take any opposition for granted in Europe’s premier club competition.

"This game is a timely reminder to everybody that this is the EuroLeague," the 59-year-old tactician stressed. "We fell into ALBA’s run-and-gun trap, they made five three-pointers in the fourth quarter and put a lot of pressure on us in the end, but we managed to win and that’s very important."

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a> of the game, <a href="https://twitter.com/moustaphafall15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@moustaphafall15</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://t.co/7WEy3J0HDE">pic.twitter.com/7WEy3J0HDE</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1870220382004789553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bartzokas was also reasonably pleased with his team’s position at the halfway stage of the regular season, with Olympiacos in the top four of the standings on an 11-6 record.

"It feels great to have 11 wins after so many injury problems, although we could have avoided two or three road losses," he added. "Now we have to look at the future and we need everyone to contribute in order to raise our quality."

In Round 18 next week, Olympiacos visits EA7 Emporio Armani Milan while ALBA is at home to Real Madrid.  

The Greek giant narrowly escaped with a last-gasp win against the EuroLeague’s bottom team

Olympiacos Piraeus v ALBA Berlin (2024-12-20T19:15:00.000Z)

Isaia Cordinier was the star man for Virtus Bologna in the absence of Toko Shengelia as the Italian side beat FC Barcelona 86-81 in Dusko Ivanovic's first home game in charge.

Cordinier’s night to remember carried Shengelia-less Virtus to another win 

[Isaia Cordinier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/isaia-cordinier/009549/) picked a great night to have the performance of his career as he helped carry [Virtus Segafredo Bologna](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/virtus-segafredo-bologna/vir/) to a hard-fought [home victory over FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/virtus-battles-past-barcelona-86-81-in-first-home-game-under-ivanovic/) as the team looks to turn the corner.

With top star [Toko Shengelia](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tornike-shengelia/001133/) missing a second straight game, Cordinier stepped up with a career-high 24 points, including 8-of-10 free throws, in an 86-81 victory in Virtus’s first home game under new head coach Dusko Ivanovic. Cordinier added 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 8 fouls drawn for a personal-best PIR of 38.

"I’m just happy that I could help the team win tonight," said the 28-year-old, whose previous scoring best was 23 points in Round 2 against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

The 28-year-old was all over the court at both ends, driving to the basket, hitting three-pointers, dishing out assists and then also coming up with big defensive plays down the stretch. After making just 1-of-2 free throws for an 83-81 lead, Cordinier forced Barcelona guard [Dario Brizuela](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dario-brizuela/009992/) into a traveling turnover with 13 seconds left in the game – a real back-breaker in Barcelona’s hopes of pulling out the win.

"The most important thing for us is fighting - getting back to passion, fight and togetherness," Cordinier added. "With the flow of the team and the energy on defense, we could run, we could share the ball on offense." 

That Cordinier play was indicative of Virtus’s toughness down the stretch.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pt" dir="ltr">Defense ⛔️ <a href="https://t.co/UYDaqpHH4A">https://t.co/UYDaqpHH4A</a> <a href="https://t.co/dl2LjxuQwE">pic.twitter.com/dl2LjxuQwE</a></p>&mdash; Virtus Segafredo Bologna (@VirtusSegafredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/VirtusSegafredo/status/1870221784961765530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“The aggressiveness in the last two minutes was the key," said [Ante Zizic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/ante-zizic/004554/), who added 12 points and 11 rebounds – including tying a career high with 8 offensive rebounds. 

Cordinier has really taken off this season in what is his fourth year with Virtus and third in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. He helped the club win the BKT EuroCup title in 2022 and then played a strong role for the France national team last summer to win the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

He scored 20 points just once last season in the EuroLeague while picking up a PIR of 20 or more four times. Through the first 17 games of the 2024-25 campaign, Cordinier has already scored 20+ points twice while collecting a PIR of 20+ on six occasions. 

Still, Cordinier knows a big part of Virtus’s team was missing against Barcelona – namely leading scorer and rebounder Shengelia. 

And Cordinier had a message to the Georgian forward after the win: “Get healthy, brother. We’re with you, we're thinking about you, and we miss you.”

The Frenchman stepped up in the absence of the star Georgian forward for a great performance 

Theo Maledon and Melvin Ajinca came up big as LDLC ASVEL beat Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 17 to achieve something that it had never done before: win back-to-back road games in a double-round week.

Youngsters led ASVEL to history-making win in Kaunas

[LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/ldlc-asvel-villeurbanne/asv/) entered the week with seven losses in as many road games this season, but after [its 72-78 win in Kaunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/asvel-holds-off-zalgiris-72-78-continues-its-winning-streak/) on Friday night, Pierric Poupet's men ended up accomplishing something in this double-round week that the club had never done before.

ASVEL started out by [edging Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 79-82](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/asvel-stuns-partizan-for-first-road-win-79-82/) at Belgrade Arena on Tuesday, so now it has two road wins in a row after its triumph at Zalgiris. ASVEL is also on a three-game winning streak and has won five of its last six games to improve to 8-9 at the halfway point of the regular season.

But the feat, the back-to-back wins on the road, is something rare for ASVEL.

This is the first time ASVEL has won both games in a double-round week since December 2022, but the first time ever that ASVEL has emerged victorious in successive games during the double-round week away from home.

But, there is more.

The only time ASVEL has won consecutive games on the road was in 2021, but those came weeks apart. ASVEL won in Rounds 20 and 23 in January 2021, then won a third straight on the road a month later, in Round 26.

However, Friday night in Kaunas was the first time in the round-robin EuroLeague format that ASVEL has won road games in consecutive rounds, too.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">JUSTE UN MEC CHILL.<br><br>🪣 17 points<br>🎁 6 passes décisives<br>💪 4 rebonds<br>🏹 7/7 aux lancers francs<br>🗒️ 24 d&#39;évaluation<br><br>C&#39;est rien, c&#39;est Théo Maledon.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LDLCASVEL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LDLCASVEL</a> <a href="https://t.co/937L5mftGz">pic.twitter.com/937L5mftGz</a></p>&mdash; LDLC ASVEL (@LDLCASVEL) <a href="https://twitter.com/LDLCASVEL/status/1870205758740279310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Friday's triumph came behind the 23-year-old star [Theo Maledon](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/theo-maledon/007027/) and the 20-year-old [Melvin Ajinca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/melvin-ajinca/010316/). The team was also without its center [Joffrey Lauvergne](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/joffrey-lauvergne/004194/), but it did not matter. ASVEL held Zalgiris to 72 points, kept Lonnie Walker scoreless, and has moved within one win of postseason places in the standings.

Truly a remarkable week for ASVEL.

The French side's week was nothing short of remarkable, and for the club, a historic one

Zalgiris Kaunas v LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2024-12-20T18:00:00.000Z)