Slask Wroclaw got back on the Polish throne after two decades while 7DAYS EuroCup champion Virtus Segafredo Bologna rallied late behind Marco Belinelli to win semifinals opener of the Italian League playoffs.
Domestic leagues: Slask wins Polish League after 20 years
Slask won the Polish League crown for the first time in 20 years after 90-77 win over Legia Warsaw in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series on Friday night. The most decorated basketball club in Poland, Slask won its 18th title with a 4-1 finals win. It was a rollercoaster-game in which Slask stormed out of the gates and held 31-13 lead after 3 minutes of play in the second quarter, only for Legia to put together a 2-25 run and take 33-38 lead into halftime. However, Kerem Kanter and Travis Trice fueled a 14-2 run to open the third quarter. More baskets from Kanter restored a double-digit margin late in the third q, then his back-to-back three-pointer in the fourth, followed by a triple from Kodi Justice opened 79-61 with 6 minutes to go, paving the way to victory. Kanter led the way with 26 points, Aleksander Dziewa scored 16, Justice had 14 and Trice finished with 11 points and 7 assists.
In Italy, Marco Belinelli scored 10 points in the final 3 minutes as Virtus Segafredo Bologna rallied to beat the visiting Tortona 77-73 and take 1-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series. Tortona took a lead 3 minutes into the second half on a three-pointer from Jamarr Sanders, and held a lead of up to 6 points. The visitors were up 66-71 with 3 minutes to go when Belinelli went on a run, which included a transition triple with 52.6 seconds to go to finally give Virtus 75-73 lead, which the EuroCup champs knew how to preserve. Belinelli scored 24 points, Mam Jaiteh had 13, Tornike Shengelia collected 11 plus 8 rebounds, and Milos Teodosic had 10 points and 9 assists.
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica booked a place in the Montenegrin League finals with a 61-73 win over city rival Podgorica, sweeping their best-of-three series on Friday night. The hosts led for majority of the first half, and led by as many as 34-24 midway through the second quarter. But Zoran Nikolic strung together 6 unanswered points, and Buducnost cut it to 39-36 at halftime. Buducnost then opened the second half with a 0-10 run, with Petar Popovic netting 7 points and Vladimir Micov scoring a three-point play. The hosts for within 59-62 in the fourth quarter, but Popovic had a three-point play in a 0-7 run that restored a double-digit advantage for Buducnost, sealing the deal. Popovic led the way with 17 points, and Zoran Nikolic scored 16 in a win. Buducnost will play Mornar Bar in the best-of-five finals.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade defeated Partizan NIS Belgrade 90-76 to take 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Adriatic League final series. Teams traded leads in the first half, with Balsa Koprivica giving Partizan an early spark. Aleksa Avramovic and Kevin Punter each hit a three-pointer and the visitors held 19-23 after the first quarter, but Ognjen Dobric, Dejan Davidovac and Nikola Ivanovic got Zvezda going in the second quarter with teams trading leads before a three-pointer from Ivanovic made it 42-39 at the half. Zvezda took control with an 8-0 run to open the third quarter, sparked by a triple from Nate Wolters. A pair of triples from Dobric opened 56-43 after 4 minutes in the third and Zvezda never looked back. Punter did score 11 points third-quarter points to cut into deficit and Dallas Moore hit back-to-back triple to get Partizan within 70-64. But consecutive three-pointers from Ivanovic restored a double-digit margin and Zvezda took 1-0 series lead. Ivanovic led Zvezda with 18 points while Luka Mitrovic and Dobric scored 14 apiece. Wolters had 11 and Davidovac 10 points in a victory. Punter led Partizan with 15 points, Moore netted 12, Zach LeDay scored 11 and Avramovic 10 points in defeat.