This Italian Derby will see Virtus (17-15) attempt to restore confidence by snapping a five-game losing streak against a Milan team (14-18) that knows it could be eliminated with a defeat.
Game Notes: Milan vs. Virtus
Virtus can rely on power forward Toko Shengelia, who has averaged 21 points in the last three games, but has to shed some psychological demons after Round 32's last-second loss to Panathinaikos. Virtus won the season's first Italian Derby by 86-79 despite 21 points from Milan leader Shavon Shields, who forms a one-two offensive punch with Nikola Mirotic, ranking seventh and sixth, respectively, among all EuroLeague scorers. Three-point shooting could be crucial as Milan relies on Shields and Mirotic, while Virtus hopes Marco Belinelli extends his streak of 10 straight games with at least one triple.
- Vitus has won all three EuroLeague games against Milan, including an 86-79 home win in Round 8.
- These two great Italian rivals met in the EuroLeague for the first time this century last season in Round 7, and Virtus pulled out a 59-64 road win.
- Virtus guard Daniel Hackett earned MVP of the round after last season’s regular-season finale when he led his team to an 89-84 victory over Milan with 25 points on 7-for-7 two-point shooting and a career-best 10 assists for a PIR of 36.
- The only other time they met in European competitions was in the 1997 EuroLeague eighthfinals when Milan won their best-of-three series that featured three home wins.
- Current Virtus head coach Luca Banchi coached Milan for two seasons, from 2013 to 2015. He won the Italian League title with the team. Nicolo Melli and Daniel Hackett played unde Banchi at that time.
- Virtus guard Daniel Hackett played for Milan for a season and a half. Hackett joined Milan in December 2013 and stayed there until the summer of 2015. He was a teammate there of Nicolo Melli and the two helped Milan reach the 2014 EuroLeague Playoffs.
- Hackett and Melli not only played together at Milan in 2014 and 2015, but have also been teammates on the Italian national team along with Stefano Tonut, Luigi Datome, Giampaolo Ricci, Tommaso Baldasso and Paul Biligha
- Hackett and Marco Belinelli played under Milan head coach Ettore Messina on the Italian national team in 2016.
- Hackett and Milan's Kyle Hines were teammates at CSKA for two seasons, from 2018 to 2020, they won the 2019 EuroLeague title together.
- Hackett and Milan's Maodo Lo were teammates at Brose Bamberg during the 2017-18 season.
- The Virtus trio of Hackett, Tornike Shengelia and Iffe Lundberg were teammates with Milan forward Johannes Voigtmann at CSKA Moscow. Hackett and Voigtmann were there from 2019-20 and Shengelia and Lundberg joined them for the next two seasons.
- Hackett made a career-high 6 three-pointers playing for CSKA against Milan in December 2019.
- Milan's Giampaolo Ricci played at Virtus for two seasons, from 2019 to 2021.
- Milan's Ricci, Stefano Tonut and Nicolo Melli have been teammates of Virtus's Alessandro Pajola and Achille Polonara on the Italian national team this past summer at the 2023 World Cup.
- Virtus's Awudu Abass played for Milan for two seasons, from 2016 to 2018. He has also been teammates with Melli, Tonut and Ricci on the Italian national team.
- Milan forward Shavon Shields and Virtus forward Toko Shengelia were teammates at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz for two seasons, from 2018 to 2020.
- Shengelia had a career-high 7 assists in last season's 89-84 home win over Milan.
- Shengelia matched his career-best with 4 steals last March in a home loss against Milan.
- Earlier this season, Milan playmaker Shabazz Napier tied his career high in PIR with 28 playing for Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade against Virtus.
- Virtus forward Jordan Mickey and Milan's Billy Baron and Alex Poythress were teammates at Zenit St Petersburg in the 2021-22 seasons.
- Mickey had a career-high 11 rebounds playing for Khimki Moscow Region against Milan in February 2021.
- Polonara set his career-high with 13 rebounds playing for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz against Milan in March 2021.
- Iffe Lundberg grabbed a career-high 7 rebounds playing for CSKA Moscow against Milan in September 2021.