The Frenchman stepped up in the absence of the star Georgian forward for a great performance
Cordinier’s night to remember carried Shengelia-less Virtus to another win
Articolo
3 Minuto di lettura
Regular Season
Round 17 of 34
Group Regular Season
w
l
w
l
l
l
w
l
w
l
Isaia Cordinier picked a great night to have the performance of his career as he helped carry Virtus Segafredo Bologna to a hard-fought home victory over FC Barcelona as the team looks to turn the corner.
With top star Toko Shengelia missing a second straight game, Cordinier stepped up with a career-high 24 points, including 8-of-10 free throws, in an 86-81 victory in Virtus’s first home game under new head coach Dusko Ivanovic. Cordinier added 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 8 fouls drawn for a personal-best PIR of 38.
"I’m just happy that I could help the team win tonight," said the 28-year-old, whose previous scoring best was 23 points in Round 2 against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.
The 28-year-old was all over the court at both ends, driving to the basket, hitting three-pointers, dishing out assists and then also coming up with big defensive plays down the stretch. After making just 1-of-2 free throws for an 83-81 lead, Cordinier forced Barcelona guard Dario Brizuela into a traveling turnover with 13 seconds left in the game – a real back-breaker in Barcelona’s hopes of pulling out the win.
"The most important thing for us is fighting - getting back to passion, fight and togetherness," Cordinier added. "With the flow of the team and the energy on defense, we could run, we could share the ball on offense."
That Cordinier play was indicative of Virtus’s toughness down the stretch.
“The aggressiveness in the last two minutes was the key," said Ante Zizic, who added 12 points and 11 rebounds – including tying a career high with 8 offensive rebounds.
Cordinier has really taken off this season in what is his fourth year with Virtus and third in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. He helped the club win the BKT EuroCup title in 2022 and then played a strong role for the France national team last summer to win the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He scored 20 points just once last season in the EuroLeague while picking up a PIR of 20 or more four times. Through the first 17 games of the 2024-25 campaign, Cordinier has already scored 20+ points twice while collecting a PIR of 20+ on six occasions.
Still, Cordinier knows a big part of Virtus’s team was missing against Barcelona – namely leading scorer and rebounder Shengelia.
And Cordinier had a message to the Georgian forward after the win: “Get healthy, brother. We’re with you, we're thinking about you, and we miss you.”