Two in-form teams meet at Buesa Arena, where fourth-placed Baskonia (8-5) will look for a fourth straight win as it hosts third-placed Virtus (9-4).
Achille Polonara, Virtus: 'The Baskonia court is a very difficult court'
Seasons
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 14 of 34
Regular Season
Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizBKN
8191
Virtus Segafredo BolognaVIR
Overview
l
w
w
w
l
w
w
w
l
w
Baskonia will have to find a way of stopping its own former star, Toko Shengelia, who continued his magnificent season with 27 points in the Round 13 victory over Maccabi and leads the league with an average PIR of 22.3 per game. Fourth in that category is Baskonia's new hero, Chima Moneke (20.1 PIR), while Tadas Sedekerskis has more rebounds than any other player (8.4 rpg.), which will make the battle for inside dominance potentially spectacular. Long-range fireworks will come from the league's most prolific three-point shooter Markus Howard (3.5 triples per game), while Virtus's Marco Belinelli is also a major deep threat with 2.5 triples per night.
Luca Banchi, Virtus head coach
"Tomorrow we will find an opponent that is experiencing an extraordinary moment of shape. Suffice it to say that since Coach Ivanovic's arrival on the bench, they have managed to collect seven victories in the last eight games, proposing a very aggressive and spectacular basketball, brought to the nth power in home games where the ballistic qualities of their outside players and the athleticism of their big men find exaltation. Despite the difficulties related to absences, we have prepared ourselves to be able to play an intelligent game, sustaining the impact that Baskonia is able to unleash, thanks to a very aggressive defense and a bubbly offense resulting from a top team offensive talent."
Achille Polonara, Virtus player
"We come from an away defeat. The Baskonia court is a very difficult court so we want to make up for it. Baskonia is in very good shape, it will be a tough game: they are a young and talented team, very well coached."