Poor free throw shooting is becoming a major concern for Virtus Bologna.

The Italian giants lost to Akasvayu Girona on Tuesday in the EuroCup for the second time, falling 89-84 in Bologna, and they made just 15-of-26 at the line (57.7%).

Virtus coach Zare Markovski said: "It was been a very level game until the end.

"But we missed seven free throws in the first half and even if we got two rebounds, we weren't able to hit them on the counter-attack."

Poor shooting at the line has cost them before.

In the Coppa Italia final, Andrea Michelori, the Italian international, missed four times at the stripe in the final minute and Benetton Treviso took advantage in winning 67-65 over Virtus.

As for Akasvayu Girona, they did not blow out Virtus on Tuesday as they had in the first game, when they romped to a 106-74 triumph in Spain.

Nevertheless, their coach, Svetislav Pesic, was all smiles after a triumphant return to Italy where he coached the previous two seasons with Lottomatica Roma.

"It is an important victory because we played a good game against one of the strongest teams in Italy," Pesic said.

"We wanted to win at all costs and we had to suffer because Virtus have fought until the end."

Both teams had already secured their passage to the quarter-finals of the EuroCup.

Akasvayu are unbeaten in the EuroCup this season.

They finished their Group L campaign with six wins in as many games, while Virtus concluded with a 4-2 record.