Bologna, June 4, 2026 – Virtus falls in game 3. In the cauldron of Taliercio, Virtus falls 89-85 despite an extraordinary Carsen Edwards. Decent performance from Diouf and Diarra, good from Niang, but coach Jakovljevic has little phosphorus and fewer points from his playmakers Hackett and Dos Santos and from Morgan.
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Venezia wins, trailing for 30′ but able in the last quarter to get ahead and stay ahead until the end. In addition to the unavailable Derrick Alston Junior and Alessandro Pajola, Luca Vildoza also misses the Taliercio challenge due to the after-effects of a contusion sustained in Game 2, following which he suffered a muscle lesion from direct trauma to the right abdominal wall, with the player to be re-evaluated for Game 4.
Virtus starts strong, with Edwards 19 at halftime, 31 at the end, unguardable. The black and whites open 0-7, at 3′. The black and white lead reaches +12 at 16-28 right at halftime, with Edwards already at 13 at the first stop, and with Virtus, despite 0 attempted free throws, hitting a stratospheric 5 out of 7 from long range. In the second quarter of the game, Candi and Tessitori bring that energy that allows Venezia to come back to -4 at 28-33 at 15′ and to tie, on Wiltjer’s triple at 40-40 at 19′. The end is again for Virtus with the usual Edwards’ triple and Dos Santos’ basket for the black and white +5 at halftime. The restart begins with a 7-0 run for Reyer, which gives the lagoon team their first lead 47-45 in the match. Partial and counter-partial, the 0-7 black and white run brings Virtus back ahead 51-57 at 26′. In the last quarter, Venezia puts together an 8-0 run, with triples from Candi, Parks, and Tessitori’s fast break basket, forcing Jakovljevic to call a timeout at 33′ with the score at 69-63. The game is tense and a contact between Hackett and Candi, a presumed headbutt from the black and white playmaker, leads to his expulsion. Venezia takes a 76-65 lead. Edwards’ triple and 5 consecutive points from Diouf bring Virtus back to -5 at 78-73 at 36′. Morgan’s winning entry, his only basket, makes it -3 at 80-77 at 37′. Dos Santos misses the tying triple, Edwards hits one for -2, 85-83 with 1’30” left, but it’s not enough because Venezia holds the lead and closes out game 3. Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday, also at 8 PM at Taliercio.
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Match report
REYER VENEZIA 89 VIRTUS BOLOGNA 85 UMANA VENEZIA: Cole 9, Bowman 7, Valentine 2, Wiltjer 8, Tessitori 22; Horton 4, Parks 15, Candi 9, Wheatle 9, Nikolic, De Nicolao; Lever DNP. Coach Spahija. OLIDATA BOLOGNA: Hackett 2, Edwards 31, Jallow 6, Niang 11, Diouf 14; Dos Santos 4, Smailagic 2, Ferrari 3, Morgan 2, Diarra 10; Akele DNP, Galassi DNP. Coach Jakovljevic. Referees: Sahin, Grigioni, Valzani. Notes: partial scores 16-28, 40-45, 59-59. Two-point shots: Venezia 27/43; Virtus 21/39. Three-point shots: 7/23; 10/24. Free throws: 14/17; 13/15. Rebounds: 31; 34.
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