Recent additions Tornike Shengelia and Daniel Hackett proved decisive for Segafredo Virtus Bologna and pushed the Italian champs to a hard-fought 70-68 victory against Gran Canaria.
Shengelia, Hackett carried Virtus down the stretch
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Despite having played just three and two 7DAYS EuroCup games, respectively, so far with their new team, Hackett and Shengelia were the top scorers for Virtus against Group B leader Gran Canaria. What proved more important was when they provided that scoring.
When John Shurna nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 62-60 with 3:10 remaining, Hackett and Shengelia took control and kept Virtus calm en route to a big home win. They combined for the last 8 points for their team to grab a 70-62 advantage entering the last 30 seconds that Gran Canaria could not recover from.
Hackett made a short jumper and a free throw for a 65-60 lead and Shengelia added a key three and added a couple of free throws to cap an 8-0 run that sent Gran Canaria to the ropes.
Virtus's plan when it picked up these two EuroLeague stars was that their talent and experience would help the team on its quest for EuroLeague glory and they came through in a big way on Tuesday.