Watch Olimpia Milano at Virtus Bologna Game 2 online: Live stream Italy’s Lega A basketball playoffs
In a back and forth Lega A finals Game 1, Olympia Milano handed Virtus Bologna their first loss of these playoffs. When Italy’s top two seeds reconvene in Bologna on Friday night (8:00pm UK) for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series, top-seeded Virtus will be battling to avert a crisis scenario.
How to live stream Olimpia Milano at Virtus Bologna online:
Bet365* stream a selection of Liga ACB Playoff basketball games live for account holders. Those interested in streaming Olimpia Milano at Virtus Bologna live can take advantage of this service by following the simple steps below. After following the link below, you’ll notice the landing page advertises NBA but Lega A is on Bet365’s schedule, too.
- Click on this link.
- Click ‘join now’ and enter details.
- Log in and fund your account.
- Navigate to the ‘In-Play’ link at the top of the homepage and select your desired event.
Major European leagues you can watch on bet365**: La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, Portuguese Primeira Liga, Ligue 1 **For local rights-based reasons, some of these leagues cannot be broadcast in certain locations (e.g. Serie A streams are inaccessible in Italy). Please check whether your country of residence is excluded.
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Where to watch Olimpia Milano at Virtus Bologna on TV:
- UK: N/A
- US: N/A
Wednesday night in Bologna, Italy’s top two seeds tipped off Lega A’s best-of-seven final series. This is, in every sense of the phrase, a battle of titans.
Not only did each side come into that opener unbeaten in these playoffs – top-seeded Virtus swept #8 Pesaro in the opening round, and then gave #4 Totona the same treatment in the semifinals, while #2 seed Olimpia had swept aside #7 and #6 (respectively) Reggiana and Sassari – but Olimpia came in having lost just once in 12 domestic games since April 10, while Virtus tipped off the finals in positively imperious form, with just two losses in their previous 28 games, with only a single domestic defeat since February 19.
The first half of Game 1 was, depending on your perspective, either a defensive masterpiece or terribly played’, with the side’s combining to make just nineteen of 74 shot attempts, which translated to 23 points (combined) in the first quarter, and 55 for the half, with the visitors taking a one-point lead into halftime. Milano returned from the locker room a different team, hitting on nearly 70% (9-of-13) of their shots in the third quarter, and out-rebounding Virtus 11-4, and outscoring their hosts 22-13 in the quarter, to take a ten-point lead into the fourth.
The table’s turned in that final stanza, Milano failed to connect on even 30% of their shots and were held to just 16 points, while Viruts made 9-of-17 (52.9%) and scored 22 of their own. Unfortunately for the hosts, though they got the margin down to two points in the final minutes, they came up a bit short and lost their home court advantage, 66-62.
The top performers of the victorious visitors were Shavon Shields (18 points, 6 rebounds), big man Kyle Hines (10 points and 10 rebounds), ex-NBAer Sergio Rodriguez (who handed out 7 assists) and Ghanaian big man, Ben Bentil whose statistical contribution was modest (5 points, 7 rebounds), but came in 19 minutes in which Olimpia outscored Virtus by 12.
Virtus, meanwhile, got solid performances from point guard Milos Teodosic (16 points and 6 assists), shooting guard Luigi Datome (13 and 5 rebounds) and Georgian big man Tornike Shengelia (11 and 7 rebounds). Going forward, however, they’re likely going to need comparable or better performances from each member of that trio, as well as starting guard Daniel Hackett and bench stars (and ex-NBAers) Marco Belinelli and JaKarr Sampson. There’s simply too much talent here some of those
Olimpia Milano probable starting lineup: Sergio Rodriguez, Luigi Datome, Kyle Hines, Shavon Shields, Ben Bentil
Virtus Bologna predicted starting lineup: Milos Teodosic, Daniel Hackett, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Tornike Shengelia, Kyle Weems
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Looking ahead to Game 2, it’s tough to know what to carry over from Game 1. Sure, both teams did play well defensively, but a scenario in which neither of the two best teams in one of Europe’s top basketball leagues – each boasting plenty of ex-NBA talent – miss more than 70% of their shots isn’t truly instructive.
Also, while each team turned in one good quarter, Olimpia failed to follow through on its strong third quarter, while Virtus only had its act together for a single decent quarter, that ultimately wasn’t enough against an opponent playing well below its own standard – who, needless to say, still won’t be handing back the victory or the homecourt advantage that it’s bestowed upon them.
If we choose to purge everything except for the result from our collective memory, Game 2 looks an awful lot like Game 1, only with Italy’s best regular season team now forced to dig in and play with incredible urgency – or face the prospect of a disastrous 0-2 series deficit, and a two-game trip to Milan from which they won’t be guaranteed to return.
