Virtus lived up to expectations and defeated Trento 102–71 in the first game of the Serie A quarterfinal series led by Carsen Edwards, while Venezia beat Tortona 89–82 at home to take an early lead in their series.
Virtus did not count on Alen Smailagic in this game, as he was the extra foreign player in Nenad Jakovljevic’s squad, after Luca Vildoza recovered from injury.
Virtus cruise to a 1–0 series lead
In Bologna, the game started with both teams exchanging leads in the opening minutes, but Virtus quickly showed why they finished the regular season in first place. By the end of the first quarter, they had already built a double-digit advantage (32–21).
In the second quarter, the home team raised the level even further and, behind a 15–4 run powered by Derrick Alston and Karim Jallow, stretched the lead to +23 at halftime (55–32).
Trento tried to respond in the third quarter with a 10–0 run, but Virtus immediately answered with three-pointers from Carsen Edwards and points from Daniel Hackett, entering the final 10 minutes with a comfortable lead (69–46).
In the final period, the advantage kept growing as Virtus controlled the game with ease and closed it out without trouble.
Edwards and Alston led the winners with 21 points each, while Yago dos Santos added 14. For Trento, Jordan Bayehe scored 15 points.
Venezia secure win over Tortona
Venezia defeated Tortona 89–82, mainly thanks to a strong second quarter in which they built a decisive lead.
After an even first quarter, Venezia created separation in the second period and went up by +11, which ultimately proved decisive.
Tortona tried to come back and cut the gap to -4 with 36 seconds left, but Venezia stayed composed and sealed the win from the free-throw line.
With this victory, Venezia preserved home-court advantage for now, but a long series is expected as the matchup is played in a best-of-five format.
