It is safe to say that Virtus Segafredo Bologna is the closest it's been to the Final Four since its last appearance in 2002. Here's why there is a good chance to see Virtus compete in Berlin in late May.
Case for the Final Four: Virtus Segafredo Bologna
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Competitiveness guaranteed
Virtus has been highly competitive against the best teams in the competition, particularily at home, where it has an 11-2 record. Its only losses came against Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 1 and against AS Monaco in Round 26. In between, it knocked off contenders such as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, FC Barcelona, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and Olympiacos Piraeus. By being so strong at home, Virtus has resided in the upper part of the standings all season long. Only four of its home wins have come by a double-digit margin, which means Virtus had to work hard until the final buzzer, like it did against Barca (80-75), Olympiacos (69-67), FC Bayern Munich (85-83) and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (88-84).
Same core, different mentality
Virtus brought in only four new players during the off-season: Ognjen Dobric, DeVontae Cacok, Bryant Dunston and Achille Polonara. Only Dunston is a regular starter, yet the team has gone from a 14-20 record last season to a 14-7 start to the current campaign. What happened?
Head coach Luca Banchi should get a lot of credit for his team's change in mentality. With players like Iffe Lundberg, Isaia Cordinier and especially Toko Shengelia, who thrive in transition, it was critical to increase both the pace of play and ball circulation and Coach Banchi's extra-pass half-court offense has been the perfect fit for the team. Last season, Virtus averaged 78.0 points, ranking last in field goal attempts (57.5 per game) and fourth in assists (19.4 apg.).
Despite the departure of pass-first genius Milos Teodosic, Virtus has seen its assist average drop a but (18.8 apg.), but improved in everything else, averaging 80.5 points and 61.5 field goal attempts. A faster pace and a more loose mentality, allowing Shengelia to start his team's offense without looking for the point guard, has definitely paid off, turning Virtus into a Final Four contender.
Well-defined roles
There is no doubt about Virtus's number one option. Shengelia has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. He leads the team in rebounds (5.5 rpg.), fouls drawn (5.4 per game) and PIR (18.1) and is second in scoring (14.5 ppg.) and assists (3.6 apg.). Following Shengelia's undeniable leadership, Marco Belinelli and Daniel Hackett have been able to contribute night in and night out. At age 37, Belinelli leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg.) and has more 20-plus point games (7) than single-digit scoring games (6). Hackett has been his team's floor general and everybody else buys into the team's rotation, from experienced big men Dunston and Jordan Mickey to team-oriented players like Polonara, Dobric, Cordinier, Lundberg and Alessandro Pajola.
Solid mid-season signings
Virtus has excelled with its mid-season signings, too . When Virtus won the 2021-22 BKT EuroCup, it landed well-rounded veterans Shengelia and Hackett who gave the team the competitiveness, experience and aggressiveness it needed to go all the way in the competition. This season, recent signings Rihards Lomazs and Ante Zizic should only make Virtus even better. Zizic stepped in for Cacok, who suffered a season-ending injury, and it is not easy to find a player of his effectiveness, experience and talent so close to the deadline.
Coach Banchi worked with Lomazs during the World Cup qualifyers, in which he was Latvia's leading scorer. Lomazs provides instant offense and Coach Banchi knows how to bring the best out of him. Taking the steps in the right direction to be more competitive paid off for Virtus in the past, and should pay off in 2024, too.