Promitheas without Octavius Ellis – easier to break by Umana Venezia?
In Round 4 of EuroCup, Venezia will defend his home court against Promitheas in a very important match for both teams. If the home team wins, they will take a step forward in their attempt to qualify to the next stage of the competition, while Promitheas will see their chances dimmed. In their last meeting one week ago, Venezia took the win in Greece 70-68, thanks to their good defense. Let’s see what they’ve done during the weekend.
After that huge win completed in Greece, Venezia returned to Italy and meet another EuroCup power, Virtus Bologna, maybe the main favourite to win the competition. I expected a very balanced game, but in reality, that balance lasts only in the first quarter because after then, Virtus took the lead and never looked back. In the fourth quarter, they had a 16 points lead, but in the end, the final score was 83-71, a score that didn’t please any of Venezia’s fans. They had many turnovers, especially thanks to Virtus’s 10 steals and also were beaten in the rebounds battle by 8 rebounds. The main contributors were: Michael Bramos (21 points), Austin Daye (13 points and 6 rebounds) and Mitchell Watt (10 points and 10 rebounds).
The losing streak is extending for Promitheas because in the weekend they met Kolossos Rhodes and lost the game 73-70. Nobody expected that because the home team won only 1 game from their last 8 and their roster is much weaker than Promitheas’s. Also, when you look at the shots made from distance, Kolossos finished the game with only one three-pointer from 17 attempts compared to 7-31 from Promitheas. Everything was settled in the first quarter when the home team took and 11 points lead and managed to hold the lead until the final seconds. The main contributors for Promitheas were: Dimitrios Agravanis (20 points and 8 rebounds), Leonidas Kaselakis (19 points and 7 rebounds) and Langston Hall (5 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists). The biggest news from the Greek team is the departure of Octavius Ellis who will join Olympiacos Pireu and make his Euroleague debut. Ellis was one of the best scorers for Promitheas and his absence will be a huge blow for them before this important match.
I expect Venezia to win this game, especially thanks to the departure of Ellis from Promitheas. The Italian team won the first meeting and for sure will want to win another one in front of their fans and make an important step to qualify for the next round. You never know with a Greek team, but will be too hard for them to take the win here.
Photo: Eurocup
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
