Virtus Segafredo Bologna and UNICS Kazan will lock horns in a deciding Game 3 of their 7DAYS EuroCup Semifinals series with a place in the finals on the line as well as the right to play in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague next season. With so much at stake, one of the keys in this contest will be winning the battle in the paint and no two players do as much work inside for each team as Virtus big man Vince Hunter and UNICS center Jordan Morgan.
Hunter has been the third-best scorer in the series for Virtus with 9.0 points per game. He ranks fourth in the semifinals with a team-high 6.0 rebounds. Hunter has also dished 1.5 assists in the series and his average PIR of 14.5 is the fifth-best in the semifinals.
Morgan, on the other hand, is averaging 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He has also been the third-best scorer for UNICS in the series despite dealing with foul trouble in both games.
The two have also delivered an abundance of highlight-reel plays in the first two games of the series while playing a big part in helping their teams to victory. In Game 1, Hunter scored 7 of his 8 points in the fourth quarter, helping Virtus to pull out an 80-76 win. He made 3 of 6 two-point shots in the game and pulled down 7 rebounds that night. Morgan had 11 points on 5-for-5 two-point shooting with 5 rebounds in that contest.
In Game 2, Morgan had 11 points, this time on 4-for-8 two-point shooting, and 2 rebounds to help UNICS build an 18-point margin before the team held on to an 85-81 win. For Virtus, Hunter finished with 10 points, making 2-of-3 two-pointers and knocking down his only three-point attempt while also collecting 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Morgan has been very consistent in contributing to UNICS's success this season. Starting in all but two games, Morgan has averaged 11.2 points and ranks third in the EuroCup with 7.2 rebounds per game. Before Game 2, the UNICS center was on a run of 10 consecutive games with at least 5 rebounds.
Hunter has been a force off the bench for undefeated Virtus, especially in the second part of the season. Hunter was chosen as the EuroCup Top 16 MVP and since the end of the regular season, he has been worth 12.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Everything each player and each team has worked for all season comes down to Game 3 and Virtus and UNICS will need Hunter and Morgan to be at their best as they try to extend their respective EuroCup seasons.