Virtus turned to defense to hold off the Greens

Virtus Segafredo Bologna pulled out a 74-64 win over Panathinaikos Athens with its best defensive effort in weeks. Precisely, in two months.
Virtus had not held any opponent under 73 points since keeping EA Emporio Armani Milan and Valencia Basket to 59 points in back-to-back games in mid-November. In its last three home games, Virtus allowed at least 85 points in each.
However, on Thursday night against Panathinaikos, Virtus kept the visitors' offense in check. The hosts kept the Greens to just 11 points in the first quarter and 13 in the fourth. And nothing was more important than a 14-0 fourth-quarter run over a span of 5 and a half minutes, which turned a 55-57 deficit into a 69-57 lead with 2 minute to go, deciding the outcome of the game.
Virtus held the EuroLeague's top scorer Dwayne Bacon to just 8 points on 1-for-7 three-point shooting.
But a segment that really kept Virtus's defense at a high level throughout the night was the rebounding. Virtus not only finished the game with a 40-28 advantage on the glass, but it allowed just 6 offensive rebounds against a team that missed 36 field goals.