Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv defeats Gran Canaria, takes 1–0 lead in EuroCup Final series
The Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv won tonight (Tuesday) in Smolkov, Bulgaria, against Gran Canaria from Spain, 74:65, in the first game of the EuroCup Final series.
This is the first-ever European final for Hapoel Tel Aviv, and they are now just one win away from winning the competition and advancing to the EuroLeague.
The second game will be broadcast live on Kan 11 and Kan Box on Friday at 22:00.
2,000 Red (Hapoel) fans supported their team, which is getting closer to making red history. Hapoel Tel Aviv started with a lineup of Jonathan Motley, Antonio Blakeney, Ish Wainright, Yam Madar, and Tomer Ginat.
Gran Canaria took an early lead, but excellent playing by Yam Madar, during which he scored 8 points, and by Motley, then gave the Reds the lead, 11:15.
After that, Blakeney helped the Israeli team take a 14:20 lead. The first quarter ended with a 20:22 lead for the Reds.
In the second quarter, the Spaniards started with a much tougher defense, which made it difficult for the Reds to score. They even took the lead, 32:34 for a time. However, a three-pointer from Bruno Caboclo and another basket from Motley brought the lead back to the Reds.
Another basket from Caboclo ended the first half with a 36:39 lead for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Blakeney led his team in scoring with 12 points.
The second half began with 12 points from Motley and an assist from him to Ginat at the start of the quarter, which gave Hapoel Tel Aviv their largest lead, 40:53. The other Red players struggled to score, and the Spaniards relied on free throws to narrow the gap.
A basket by Hapoel's Markus Foster in the last seconds of the quarter made it 50:60.
At the start of the final quarter, it seemed like Hapoel Tel Aviv slowed down, but they woke up with three-pointers from Wainright, Foster, and Caboclo, which gave Hapoel Tel Aviv a 56:71 lead.
A 2:7 run from the Spaniards led Dimitrios Itoudis to call a timeout, but the Spaniards couldn’t threaten the Reds’ victory.
Lian is a sports reporter for KAN 11.
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