Hapoel had to get a little bit out of character to pull out a hard-fought win and move into the semifinals
Defense, boards, belief and unity fueled Hapoel
Article
3 Mins read
In three years since joining BKT EuroCup, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv had never won a game in which it scored fewer than 76 points, but managed to so on Wednesday when it mattered most. Hapoel fought hard for a 67-61 victory over Turk Telekom Ankara in a one-and-done quarterfinal clash that saw Hapoel reach the semifinals of the competition for the first time.
“This is what playoff basketball is about,” said Marcus Foster, Hapoel’s leader in the game with 21 points and 8 rebounds. “Sometimes it’s not got to be pretty, so you just have to find your way to win.”
Hapoel came into the quarterfinals as the third-best scoring team, having averaged 88.8 points per game during the regular season. But on Wednesday night the offense struggled.
Game Videos
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Makoundou’s emphatic slam! Magic Moment of the Night
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Marcus Foster: 'This is what playoff basketball is about'
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv-Turk Telekom Ankara | Quarterfinals Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Ragland to Bingham alley-oop! Magic Moment
- 00:11
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Motley’s big dunk! Magic Moment
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Kyle Alexander: 'We are a team full of fighters'
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Turk Telekom Ankara-Buducnost VOLI Podgorica | Eighthfinals Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Alexander punishes the rim! Magic Moment
- 00:11
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What an alley-oop for Makoundou! Magic Moment
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ratiopharm Ulm-Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv | Round 18 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 18 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Makoundou ends the quarter with a slam! Magic Moment,
- 00:12
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Foster finishes the thrilling alley-oop! Magic Moment
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv-Trefl Sopot | Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Turk Telekom Ankara-Umana Reyer Venice | Round 17 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Caboclo says no to Zyskowski! Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Foster find his way to destroy the rim! Magic Moment
- 00:22
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Alexander's big alley-oop dunk! Magic Moment
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv-Bahcesehir College Istanbul | Round 16 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Motley to Foster! Magic Moment
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U-BT Cluj-Napoca-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 16 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Great alley oop from Durmaz and Alexander! Magic Moment
- 00:38
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Jabari Parker: 'We gave the fans what they wanted'
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FC Barcelona-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | RS Round 21 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Air Metu! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Flying Alexander! Magic Moment of the Night
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Yurtseven's put-back slam! Motorola Magic Moment
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Parker's fastbreak dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Buducnost VOLI Podgorica-Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Wainright saves the day with rejection! Magic Moment
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Turk Telekom Ankara-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Smith and Makoundou combine! Magic Moment
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Alexander on the alley oop! Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Makoundou gets airborne to hammer it home! Magic Moment
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Valencia Basket-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Makoundou denies Badio!! Magic Moment
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv-Dolomiti Eneriga Trento | Round 14 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Timor connects with Caboclo for the slam! Magic Moment
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Turk Telekom-Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse | Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Bess with eyes in the back of his head! Magic Moment
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Makoundou's alley-oop slam! Magic Moment
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Dreamland Gran Canaria-Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv | Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Caboclo dunks after great pass! Magic Moment of the Night
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Ginat goes behind-the-back! Magic Moment
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv-Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul | Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 12 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Stewart dunks off a steal! Magic Moment
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Ragland sends Caboclo dunkin'! Magic Moment
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Robinson throws it down! Magic Moment
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Alexander blocks and Robinson dunks!
In the first half, Hapoel scored just 28 points, which was its lowest-scoring half in any EuroCup game. But the team still led by 2.
By the end of the night, Hapoel only had 67 points on its tally, its second-worst scoring performance in three EuroCup season. But the team still managed to pull out a win.
"Defense is what won the game,” said Oz Blayzer, who played 17 minutes, which is 10 more than his season average, due to team captain Tomer Ginat not being able to go in the second half.
“We came committed to our game plan. We kept them to a low score but we also didn’t score much. In the end, we made the correct plays,” Blazer said.
The way Hapoel had done the job was the dominance on the offensive glass. Hapoel pulled down 18 offensive board to just 3 by Turk Telekom.
What’s more, all 3 of those offensive board Turk Telekom grabbed in the first quarter.
That’s not all the damage that Hapoel’s defense has done. The Coach Dimitris Itoudis team has allowed only 3 field goals in each the second and third quarter. So, even though the offense was not clicking, the defense was there to step up.
“[Key] was the belief,” Itoudis said. “Trust to the unity, the locker room is healthy. Players are together. They are ready to accept criticism, and they are ready to fight.”
And fought they did. For a place in the semifinals, for the first time in club history.