Virtus snaps losing streak against Real, 74-68

After five consecutive losses, Virtus managed to beat Real at Paladozza

Regular Season

Round 1 of 38

game Real Madrid vs Virtus Bologna

Regular Season

Virtus BolognaVIR

7468

Real MadridRMB

Overview

w

l

Virtus Bologna started the new season in style by defeating Real Madrid 74-68 at the Paladozza on Tuesday. Carsen Edwards led the winners with 14 points, Saliou Niang added 12 in his first game in the competition while Luca Vildoza scored 11 for Virtus. Mario Hezonja paced Real with 14 points and Gabriel Deck added 12. Virtus put an end to a five-game losing streak against Los Blancos.

Edwards got Virtus going with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Walter Tavares responded with a basket inside and Hezonja’s jumper gave Real a 3–5 lead. Alessandro Pajola stepped up for the hosts, but Hezonja hit another mid-range shot and added a transition layup to keep Los Blancos ahead, 5–9. Deck took over with a backdoor layup following a Virtus timeout. Vildoza answered with a driving finish, which Bruno Fernando matched with a jump hook. David Kramer scored in the paint, Aliou Diarra knocked down a mid-range jumper, and Trey Lyles restored Real’s lead at 9–17. After Vildoza connected from deep, Deck banked in a close-range shot. Niang’s tip-in brought Virtus within 14–19 at the end of the first quarter.

Niang Euro-stepped his way to the basket for an easy two early in the second quarter. Garuba got on the scoreboard, but Matt Morgan’s three-pointer forced Real to call timeout at 19–21. Andres Feliz responded with a coast-to-coast layup, which Diouf erased with a block. Niang and Hezonja traded layups, Karim Jallow scored on a strong drive, and Vildoza’s coast-to-coast finish put Virtus back in front, 27–25. Hezonja banked in a fadeaway jumper, but Brandon Taylor answered with a three-pointer. Morgan blew past Tavares for a layup, and Smailagic capped a 7–0 run with a tip-in. Tavares scored inside, and Abalde added a jumper to cut the deficit to 36–31. Deck and Lyles chipped in to bring Real even closer, 38–35, at halftime.

Niang threw down a dunk shortly after the break. Hezonja responded with a strong basket in the low post, and Smailagic followed with a deep three-pointer to extend Virtus’s lead to 43–37. Campazzo scored his first points in transition and Deck added a layup to bring Los Blancos within 2. Deck then tied the game from the foul line before Edwards delivered a wild four-point play for a 47–43 Virtus advantage. Edwards connected with Mouhamet Diouf for a layup and soon stretched the lead to 8, prompting Real to call timeout. Fernando answered with a jump hook, and Okeke finally broke Real’s drought from beyond the arc — after 12 missed attempts — to close the gap to 51–48. Alston scored inside and then Sergio Llull and Hackett traded jumpers to fix the score at 55–50 after three quarters.

Chuma Okeke scored off a steal early in the fourth quarter. Diarra banked in a close-range shot, and Vildoza followed with a three-pointer that fired up the crowd at 60–52. Llull hit a floater, but Niang answered with a reverse layup. Edwards buried a huge three-pointer to give Virtus its first double-digit lead, 66–54, with just over four minutes remaining. Tavares responded with a dunk, and Hezonja followed with a coast-to-coast layup to give Real a spark at 66–58. Campazzo connected from deep before Niang brought the crowd to its feet with a massive poster dunk over Deck. Feliz scored in the paint, and Deck added a tip-in to bring Real within striking distance at 68–65. Campazzo bettered Edwards’s acrobatic layup with a triple but missed a close attempt on Real’s next possession. Morgan drew a foul and calmly sank both free throws with 11.3 seconds left to seal the outcome.