After the stinging defeat against Treviso, a response was expected from Una Hotels and came with a strong, albeit losing, performance against the Virtus Bologna.
Pride, however, is not enough to reverse the trend and Priftis’ team will have to – among many other things – fix the dynamics of the sprint finishes who have lately always condemned his own.
In the count of six consecutive defeatsIn fact, there are even four that were decided by a minimal margin, between 1 and 3 points.
A sort of (unfortunately negative) record that began with Cibona Zagreb (victorious at the PalaBigi with a score of 75 to 73) and then continued last Wednesday with Dijon (79-76), Friday with Treviso (89-88) and Sunday with Virtus (80-78).
Obviously every match has its own story and it must be said that both with Nutribullet and with Bologna the referee whistles have had a significant specific weight that has always ‘penalized’ the red and whites. In fact, against the Venetians, a foul was called on Vitali on the three-pointer by Abdur-Rahkman that was decisive for the result, while on the contrary the ‘no foul’ on the three-pointer for the victory of Caupaine (with Pajola blocking the playmaker) gave the victory to the home team.
Having made these clarifications, it is undeniable that the necessary clarity of mind was lacking in these types of situations, when every little detail (or tactical choice) makes the difference.
In the two Fiba Europe Cup defeats the ball was handled directly by Burford who missed the game-winning shot on both occasions; against Treviso, however, the play was designed for Caupain, but instead of beating the big man with a dribble and driving to the rim, he passed the ball (and the blame…) to the usual Barford, who forced an unlikely shot with just seconds left. Against Virtus, however, it was Caupain himself who took the blame, but his attempted three-pointer fell far short, and the foul (which the player himself attempted too insistently…) went uncalled.
In our opinion, this is an extreme case, and it’s very difficult to be certain. At normal speed, we wouldn’t have called anything, precisely because of the ostentatious way in which Caupain (leaning to the left, extending his arm) is more concerned with generating contact than scoring. Then, reviewing the footage, contact does indeed appear to have occurred, but we’re within those “extreme cases” (like Vitali’s foul on Abdur-Rahkman) that unfortunately lend themselves to interpretation.