by Cindy Garcia-Bennett

Virtus coach Zare Markovski could not hide his disappointment after watching a potential game-winning shot by Brett Blizzard hit the inside of the rim and fall out in the closing seconds which sealed his side 74-73 loss.

As a result, the Italian outfit fell short in their goal of winning a European title.

Virtus put themselves in a deep hole by trailing by as many as 18 in the opening half.

"We were psychologically too charged up to do well at the start of the
game," said Markovski.

"We were indecisive in the first half and showed fear but when we realised that the game was slipping away we played as we should have  done at the start.”

Markovski was particularly displeased about his side’s defensive effort in the first half.

Azovmash shot lights out en route to a 50-point first half.

"The defense in the first half was the key to our defeat.

"This defeat burns not because we are not going to a final but because we always want to win.

"I thought we had done enough in 30 minutes to win it but in the end our  defense didn't hold.

"Now we must look ahead to our next games in the Lega A."