Bologna –
The inside-outside starts and in order to play the right game against Lietkabelis, Segafredo will need a lot of things. For example on the arc, because here the earth turns fast counting that in the victories the Lithuanians have so far made 11,2 triples with 41,1% and only 8,5 triples with 30,2% in the defeats.
Among the best exponents Orelik, Vytenis Lipkevicius, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis. A rough team, not a trivial one, this Lietkabelis, with dry rotations, seven players playing more than 25 minutes and only three in double figures: the Lithuanian Gediminas Orelik, forward with 15.6 points and 4.9 rebounds, the Greek Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, guard with 13.3 points and the Croatian Dorde Gagic, center with 11.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. For his size, experience and ability in the post, he is the reference point in the area, in full competitive maturity where his 31 years of age allow him these numbers in less than 21 minutes of play. The Greek Kalaitzakis has been the surprise, the central element of this qualification to the Eurocup playoffs. His improvement during the season is tangible, which often puts him at the center of the contest when it heats up, bringing out his heavy shooting weight, now at a career high (36.2%). With them on the court, the quintet often acquires harmony and compactness, even when the offense struggles. Nenad Canak, young Serbian coach curiously native of Zagreb, at the team’s helm since 2018, has so far found in the 11.1 offensive rebounds (seventh in the competition), in the 7.3 recoveries (eighth) and in the coldness on a stopped clock (77%, sixth) the team’s greatest gifts, despite the often hiccuping offense (78.3 only fifteenth) also limited by the melancholy tones of 15.6 lost balls, the worst of the lot. Moscia forward, the Lietkabelis tightens better some screws behind for asphyxiation, where she is third in the rating, second both in points suffered (75.3) and in offensive rebounds conceded, just 9.4. Against her, few baskets are printed but also few assists are created, 16.3 (fourth), right crosses of a road that certainly is not always smooth in the warm belly of the team.
