Hapoel Tel Aviv crushed Gran Canaria 87-64 over the weekend at the ACB club’s home in the Canary Islands as the Reds scored early and often, never allowing the contest to become competitive, cruising to the win.
With the victory, the Reds moved to 8-5 in EuroCup play, good for fourth place in Group A, just a game behind Gran Canaria and Ulm.
The visitors began the game like a house on fire as Jonathan Motley did as he pleased, while Bruno Caboclo and Bar Timor added points aplenty to grab a commanding 51-25 lead over Gran Canaria at the half. Carlos Alocen tried to cut into the advantage, but Timor kept scoring. Antonio Blakeney, who only entered the game late in the second half, also couldn’t miss as the Reds wrapped up the win.
Motley and Timor each scored 14 points, while Blakeney added 13 points in the win. Joe Thomasson scored 13 points, and Carlos Alocen chipped in with 10 points in the loss.
“Our performance in the first half was dominant on both ends,” Hapoel Tel Aviv head coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “We kept them very low percentage-wise from the field, and we scored 82% from two-point range in the first half. We tried to take advantage of their weaknesses. The fact that we didn’t give up easy points gave us a boost. We were good in this road game.”
Captain Bar Timor also reflected on the win.
“I’m very happy. We had a great game, stuck to the game plan, and had a great defensive game.”
Hapoel Jerusalem’s late comeback
In Samokov, Bulgaria, Hapoel Jerusalem mounted a late comeback to knock off Aris 90-85 as Jared Harper continued to make his case for EuroCup MVP.
The Reds moved their record to 8-5, keeping the capital city side in second place in Group B. The Greek team led for most of the way, as it looked like Ioannis Kastritis’s squad was going to walk away with the win thanks to stellar play from Trey Woodbury, Sharife Cooper, Darral Willis, and LJ Figueroa.
Cooper and Woodbury pushed the Aris advantage to double digits in the third quarter after taking a 41-37 lead into the break. But Jerusalem’s Khadeen Carrington, Justin Smith, and Tarik Phillip were able to close the gap to 67-59 after 30 minutes.
Smith and Harper kept scoring for Yonatan Alon’s team, and though Figueroa kept the Greek squad ahead, Yovel Zoosman knocked down the game-tying triple and added free throws down the stretch to complete the Jerusalem comeback.
Harper scored 29 points, Carrington added 15 points, while Smith and Phillip each scored 14 points in the win. Cooper and Woodbury each scored 17 points, while Willis and Figueroa both contributed 16 points in the loss.
“If Hapoel Jerusalem wants to go somewhere this season, everyone has to take a good look in the mirror, and this can never happen again,” Alon said after the comeback win. “We need to learn from this, but we do need to be happy about the win. One of the reasons we were able to come back was because Tarik Phillip started defending on the ball like crazy, and Chris Johnson, who was sick with the flu, really showed the guys how to play.”
Harper, the game’s MVP, spoke about the win.
“The first couple of quarters we didn’t play well, and we knew that. We got back into the game, stayed together as a team, and this was a big one for us. I think there were a multitude of things [that caused us issues], and not every game will be our best game. But we can control what we can control – turnovers and the like – and if we do that, the offense will come.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s loss
Over in Euroleague play, Maccabi Tel Aviv was thumped by Partizan Belgrade 98-75 in Serbia as the yellow-and-blue was outplayed from the start.
The hosts grabbed a 27-12 first-quarter lead and never looked back, dropping Maccabi’s record to 5-14 on the season. Tamir Blatt led Oded Katash’s team with 16 points, John DiBartolomeo added 15 points, and Jaylen Hoard chipped in with 12 points in the loss. Sterling Brown paced Željko Obradović’s squad with 21 points, Brandon Davies put in 16 points, and Duane Washington scored 13 points in the win.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Katash said after the game. “Right from the beginning, we weren’t there in any aspect. A very bad game and a very bad night for us – not what we expected.”
“We played a good game, and I am very happy for my players and for our fans,” Obradović said. “It was an excellent atmosphere again, but I do have to say that Maccabi looks very tired, as they are playing their home games a long way from home for a second successive season.”
DiBartolomeo, Maccabi’s captain, reflected on his team’s performance.
“We lost too many balls, and you can’t do that in an arena like this. They’re a very good team, and it’s hard to play here. You have to play very well to win here, and we didn’t do that – we allowed a lot of easy baskets.
Brown commented on the win from Partizan’s perspective.
“We knew we had to come out with a lot of energy because we also knew they were going to come out to play strong. Everybody contributed and got the job done. We have to keep going, keep persisting, stand together, and take it game by game.”
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
