The veteran talisman of Virtus is ready for the challenge of trying to reach his first EuroLeague Playoffs.
Marco Belinelli, Virtus: 'Age is just a number'
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Virtus Segafredo Bologna travels to face Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Friday in the final Play-In Showdown game with a chance to qualify for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. That would give Marco Belinelli the chance to make his EuroLeague Playoffs debut at age 38.
When it comes to the EuroLeague Playoffs, Belinelli has been unlucky in terms of timing. He helped Fortitudo Bologna reached the EuroLeague Championship Game in 2004 but in that case qualified to the Final Four straight from the Top 16. When playoffs returned to the competition in 2005, Belinelli had three chances to get there with Fortitudo but never made it.
After a long time in the NBA – where he made the playoffs in six separate seasons and became champion with San Antonio in 2014 – Belinelli returned to Europe and helped Virtus win the BKT EuroCup title in 2022. Last season, Virtus missed the EuroLeague playoffs. But now, after shocking Anadolu Efes Istanbul on the road, 64-67, on the first night of the Play-In Showdown, Belinelli and Virtus have the chance to experience the best-of-five EuroLeague Playoffs for the first time if they can win against Baskonia on Friday.
Belinelli prepared for a long career
Belinelli's long-term experience will be central to the Virtus cause.
"Age is just a number for me – that's my opinion – so I just try to go on the court, every practice and every game, to show what I can do, show how I can help my team to win," he says.
It is no accident that Belinelli is not only playing professionally at age 38, but ranks among the top 15 overall scorers and top 10 per-minute scorers in the EuroLeague.
"For sure, taking care about my body and everything is the reason why I'm still playing, you know, like 100%," Belinelli said. "I try to do my treatment, eat in the right way, go to sleep early, just stay with my family and my baby, so that keeps me going. That's the reason."
"I don't just want to be a shooter."
Of course, Belinelli has plenty of other playoff experience – just not in the EuroLeague – to fall back on at this point in the season. He helped Virtus win the Italian League title in 2021, in his first season after returning from the NBA. His NBA playoff experience totaled 65 games with New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia and of course, San Antonio, the team with whom he won that 2014 NBA title.
"When I signed for Virtus Bologna, I got the opportunity to win immediately the Italian championship... so for me it was really like a dream come true. I didn't expect that from the beginning, immediately," Belinelli said. "But it's important to say that if somebody plays for Virtus Segafredo Bologna, he needs to know that here we want to win trophies. So, it's the first thing, and we're going to try to do that every year."
This season, Belinelli is averaging 14.2 points, 1.8 assists and a PIR of 9.4, proving he is much more than a three-point shooter.
"I think that's my style of basketball, everybody know me like a three-point shooter but like I say many times, I don't just want to be a shooter. I just try to help the team and create for my teammates. I try to play better defense, you know?," Belinelli said. "So I just try to do that because I want to do that, I want to show that to the people, and we just want to win."
A team on a mission
Speaking of fire power, Belinelli believes Virtus has one of the most dangerous backcourts in the competition, which could be a difference-maker in Vitoria-Gasteiz just like it was against Efes in Istanbul. Iffe Lundberg sealed the outcome in the final seconds with a bomb from downtown. Belinelli buried 3 triples from beyond the arc, while Lundberg, Achille Polonara and Awudu Abass hit 2 each.
"I think we have a lot of players who are playing much better than last year. They've got more confidence and for sure, it's important to score three-point shots," Belinelli said. "I think we have a great group of guys. Everybody wants to play hard and sacrifice for our coach and for the organization, for sure. And we play together. We move the ball side to side, everybody has confidence to be on the court and be important for the team."
"Virtus needs to stay at this high level."
Having so many shooters wouldn't be so important if Virtus did not have a power forward able to attack the rim and make the most out of the space its three-point bombers generate. Luckily for Virtus, it has the perfect player for that job, Toko Shengelia, and Belinelli appreciated his role as a veteran leader in every way.
"He is a good guy, he is a good leader and honestly, I expect that from Toko," Belinelli said. "He's got talent, he can score pretty much everywhere. He can handle the ball, he can run fast, so I'm really happy and very lucky to play with him. And I hope that he's going to stay like this with us for a long time."
Playoffs or not, don't be surprised see Belinelli playing for Virtus at age 39 and even beyond. He is shooting the ball well, contributing in many ways and above all, considers Bologna his home. Belinelli was born in San Giovanni in Persiceto, barely 30 kilometers away from the city. He believes coming back to Virtus was the right decision at the right time, going full circle by joining the team in which he started his professional basketball career.
"I mean, it's great for me. I played in the NBA for 13 years, so that was a long time. And for me, it was time to come back home," Belinelli says. He and Virtus "pretty much we want the same thing, to win some trophies and get better as an organization. So, I'm really happy to be here. I'm home and I think Virtus needs to stay at this high level."