2020-21SemifinalsGame 2
UNICS Kazan 85
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 81
April 09, 2021 CET: 18:00
Local time: 19:00 BASKET HALL KAZAN

UNICS hands Virtus first loss of season

In one of the most thrilling games in 7DAYS EuroCup Semifinals history, UNICS Kazan stayed in the race to reach the finals by downing Virtus Segafredo Bologna 85-81 at Basket Hall Kazan in Game 2 of their best-of-three semifinals series on Friday. The series is now tied at 1-1 with Virtus set to host Game 3 next Wednesday. UNICS handed Virtus its first loss of the season, stopping the visitors' 20-game winning streak. Isaiah Canaan led UNICS with 19 points. Jordan Theodore added 15, Okaro White 12 and Jordan Morgan 11. Marco Belinelli led Virtus with 33 points. Milos Teodosic added 11 while Vince Hunter had 10 for the guests. Canaan and Nate Wolters paced UNICS to a 24-16 lead after 10 minutes. Belinelli brought Virtus within 3 points before Canaan and Artem Klimenko boosted in front by 47-37 at halftime. UNICS boosted its margin to 66-48 late in the third quarter but Virtus rallied to tie 81-81 on a late layup by Teodosic. Jamar Smith hit 4 of 4 free throws in crunch time to assure UNICS a season-extending win.

Teodosic got Virtus going with a driving layup that Canaan bettered with a corner triple. Amedeo Tessitori followed a dunk with a put-back basket and Giampaolo Ricci added a backdoor layup for a 5-8 Virtus lead. White scored in penetration, Canaan struck from downtown, and Theodore hit a jumper as UNICS regained a 12-10 lead. Nate Wolters followed a three-pointer with a fastbreak layup but Awudu Abass and Julian Gamble kept Virtus within 18-14 after 10 minutes. Wolters bettered Belinelli's layup with his second triple and John Brown added a basket-plus-free throw for a 24-16 UNICS lead. Hunter dunked and Ricci struck from beyond the arc in a 0-7 run that Belinelli capped with a fastbreak layup. John Holland and Theodore rescued the hosts with a three-pointer apiece, getting help from Morgan to restore a 33-26 UNICS margin. Teodosic stepped up with a layup and Belinelli added a three-point play for Virtus, but Jamar Smith kept his team ahead, 37-31. Belinelli struck from downtown before Canaan followed a triple with a coast-to-coast layup and Klimenko dunked to boost UNICS in front 47-37 at halftime.

Stefan Markovic buried a three-pointer soon after the break for Virtus. White answered with a layup-plus-foul. Morgan followed a huge dunk with a jump hook en route to a 15-point UNICS advantage, 58-43. Brown, Hunter and Kyle Weems each dunked but Canaan scored again and White broke the game open, 66-48. Belinelli reeled off 12 quick points, including 3 consecutive triples, but Canaan and Theodore restored a 71-61 UNICS lead after 30 minutes. Morgan scored in the low post early in the fourth quarter and Canaan added a three-point play that gave UNICS fresh air at 76-61. Belinelli had 6 points in an 0-7 run that restored hope for Virtus at 76-68 with 6 minutes left. Hunter bettered Theodore's layup with a triple and Belinelli forced UNICS to call timeout at 80-75 with 3 minutes to go. Alessandro Pajola buried a baseline jumper, Brown split free throws and Belinelli scored in penetration as Virtus closed within 81-79. Teodosic tied the game 81-81 with a driving layup with 19.9 seconds left. Smith drew a foul and made free throws for an 83-81 UNICS lead with 12.6 seconds remaining. Belinelli picked up a fatal turnover and Smith sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Pivotal performer

Theodore played physical and both ends and was UNICS's x-factor in Game 2. He finished the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 19 in an all-around performance.

Game-changing moment

Milos Teodosic tied the game with a driving layup, 81-81, with 19.9 seconds left. Virtus fouled Jamar Smith, who calmly hit both free throws. The guests called timeout but Belinelli picked up a turnover, which allowed Smith to draw another foul and seal the outcome from the free throw line.

Stellar stat

Offensive rebounds and turnovers made the difference in this game. UNICS pulled down 17 offensive rebounds and limited turnovers to just 8. On the other hand, Virtus had 10 offensive rebounds and picked up as many as 15 turnovers, including the final one by Belinelli in crunch time.

Did you know?

Virtus saw its 20-game winning streak come to an end. It matched the longest winning streak in competition history. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar had a 20-game winning streak twice – from the 2013 EuroCup Championship Game until the 2014-15 quarterfinals and again throughout the 2017-18 campaign.

Next game

Virtus hosts Game 3 of this exciting semifinals series at Virtus Segafredo Arena on Wednesday, April 14. Virtus fights for the chance to reach the EuroCup Finals for the first time. UNICS already reached the Finals in 2011 and 2014.

Isaiah Canaan - UNICS Kazan (photo UNICS - Kseniya Bogdanova) - EC20
Friday, April 9, 2021
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: BELOSEVIC, ILIJA; KOLJENSIC, MILOS ; CELIK, HUSEYIN
Attendance: 5321
By Quarter1234
UNICS Kazan18292414
Virtus Segafredo Bologna14232420
End of Quarter1234
UNICS Kazan18477185
Virtus Segafredo Bologna14376181
UNICS Kazan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
00 BROWN, JOHN 19:37 6 2/3   2/5 1 2 3 2   2 1   3 4 7
2 ANTIPOV, PAVEL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 CANAAN, ISAIAH 32:41 19 3/5 4/9 1/1 1 7 8 2         2 3 23
6 ZHBANOV, GEORGY 5:18               2             2
7 WOLTERS, NATE 5:29 8 1/1 2/2         1 2         1 12
9 WHITE, OKARO 35:21 12 3/5 0/3 6/7 6 3 9 1   1 1   4 7 19
12 KLIMENKO, ARTEM 4:39 3 1/2   1/2           1       1 1
13 UZINSKII, DMITRII 15:05   0/2 0/1   1 3 4         1 5   -5
15 SMITH, JAMAR 19:50 8 2/3 0/5 4/4 1   1 1         4 3 3
19 MORGAN, JORDAN 19:15 11 4/8   3/7 1 1 2   1 1   1 4 5 5
23 HOLLAND, JOHN 10:11 3 0/1 1/3   2   2 1 1       2   2
25 THEODORE, JORDAN 32:34 15 2/7 1/6 8/9 1 4 5 6 3 3   1 1 6 19
Team           3 2 5               5
Totals 200:00 85 18/37 8/29 25/35 17 22 39 16 7 8 2 3 25 30 93
        48.6% 27.6% 71.4%
Head coach: PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Virtus Segafredo Bologna
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 TESSITORI, AMEDEO 8:12 6 3/3     1   1       2   3   6
3 ABASS, AWUDU 9:39 2   0/1 2/2   1 1 1   1     2 1 1
6 PAJOLA, ALESSANDRO 21:36 2 1/4   0/2   3 3   2 2     4 1 -3
7 ALIBEGOVIC, AMAR 5:32                   1     1   -2
9 MARKOVIC, STEFAN 9:34 3 0/1 1/3     1 1 1       1 3 2  
11 RICCI, GIAMPAOLO 18:35 7 2/2 1/4   1 4 5 1   2     2   6
14 ADAMS, JOSH 9:56   0/1 0/2         1   1     2   -5
18 BELINELLI, MARCO 27:49 33 5/7 5/9 8/9 1 3 4 1 1 2     1 7 36
32 HUNTER, VINCE 24:24 10 2/3 1/1 3/3 2 3 5 2     1 1 4 4 16
34 WEEMS, KYLE 19:40 2 1/1 0/1   1 4 5 1         3   4
44 TEODOSIC, MILOS 31:14 11 3/3 0/8 5/8 1 2 3 9   4     4 7 11
45 GAMBLE, JULIAN 13:49 5 2/2   1/2   3 3 1   2     1 3 8
Team           3 4 7               7
Totals 200:00 81 19/27 8/29 19/26 10 28 38 18 3 15 3 2 30 25 85
        70.4% 27.6% 73.1%
Head coach: DJORDJEVIC, SASA

Head Coaches

PRIFTIS, DIMITRIS
UNICS Kazan
"Congrats to the players. We are still alive. We have one more shot in Bologna on Wednesday. We played good for the most part. We had control of the game in the second half. We lost our minds a little bit in the fourth quarter. We didn't decide properly the last possessions and got a little bit stressed. At the same time, they have some personalities like Teodosic and Belinelli who can make something out of nothing. They can score really tough shots and are also intelligent and know how to go to the free throw line. They have a high IQ. This is something that we have to develop, to improve, play a little but smarter. We go now to Bologna to fight like we did in the first game. It is obvious that we have a chance. We played two very, very tough games. We will go there to fight really hard. There is a big goal in front of us, so we will do our best. We will give our hearts to fight harder in this game."
DJORDJEVIC, SASA
Virtus Segafredo Bologna
"We found the way to play against an extremely aggressive team in the second half. Nevertheless, they were extremely aggressive. They shot 10 free throws more than us, and it is something that it is obviously due to their aggressiveness playing here at home. I didn't like the turnovers in the first half. What we prepared, we didn't execute well. We had 9 turnovers and that gave confidence to UNICS. They know how to play and have a lot of great, talented ballhandlers. They controlled the game but in the end, we had a chance to win it. Too bad. We will see this team on Wednesday. We will keep fighting. It is beautiful to play in front of fans. Of course, it is the first time for us this year. This was, for sure, a help for UNICS. If we had our fans in our gym, we would be very, very happy, but we don't."

Players

CANAAN, ISAIAH
UNICS Kazan
"We don't worry too much about the records. We are about what we have to do to win the game. The coaches gave us a good game plan and we fought hard down there, in Italy, and we know it was going to be hard coming here. They gave us a fight but we protected our home and handled business. And me, personally, I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself. I felt like I had been letting my team down with my play, but they always had my back. They showed it tonight and we got the win."
No results found.