Olimpia Milano beats Virtus Bologna in Game 7 to retain its Italian League crown

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan is the Italian League champion for the second year in a row – and the 30th time in its history – after defeating Virtus Segafredo Bologna 4-3 in their best-of-seven series. At a sold-out Mediolanum Forum, Milan won 67-55 in Game 7, leading to jubilant scenes inside the arena. It proved to be more of an old-school series, with all seven games being won by the home team. Luckily for Milan, having secured the No. 1 seed in the regular season, it was able to host the pivotal Game 7 at Mediolanum Forum.

Gigi Datome put in an MVP performance for Milan on the night, as he turned back the clock to score a game-high 16 points. Billy Baron was Milan's second-highest scorer with 11 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter, while Shavon Shields also reached double figures for points with 10. Toko Shengelia was Virtus's leading scorer in the loss, as he had 13 points. Milos Teodosic ended the game with 10 points, too.

Milan got off to a great start in Game 7, closing the first quarter with a 21-9 lead thanks to 10 points from Datome. While Virtus was able to outscore Milan in the second quarter, 17-20, the hosts led 38-29 at the break. Of Milan's 38 points at halftime, Datome (13), Kyle Hines (8) and Shields (7) had 28 between them. For Virtus, Shengelia was the team's highest scorer in the first half with 8 points, while Jordan Mickey had 6 and Daniel Hackett had 5.

When the teams returned for the second half, it was clear that tiredness was starting to become more of a factor, particularly given that this was Game 7 and they had already gone to battle six previous times in the last two weeks. Milan won a low-scoring third quarter 10-5 to extend its lead further, 48-34, but a valiant response from Virtus in the fourth threatened to turn the game on its head.

When Milos Teodosic scored a three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight points, 55-47, with 4:06 remaining, a late Virtus comeback seemed possible. But, a three-pointer by Billy Baron and then another by Datome soon after calmed any nerves inside Mediolanum Forum, 61-47. Shengelia went 2-for-2 from the line to keep Virtus's faint chances alive, but six straight points by Baron – a triple and 3 made free throws – put Milan well on its way towards the win, 67-49. Virtus scored the last six points of the game to make it a slightly more respectable final score of 67-55, but Milan was able to let time expire on the final possession as it started its celebrations early.