Despite a depleted roster, the team from Tel Aviv played better in the second half to defeat Wolves.
Hapoel, led by Kyle Alexander, got stronger as the game progressed
Article
3 Mins read
“We were able to play much better defense in the second half, rebound the ball a lot better, shore the ball a lot better. As the game proceeds, we get better. Even though we were short and we missed guys, everybody showed that there is no vacuum.” With those words, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv head coach Danny Franco aptly summed up his team’s 89-90 victory over Wolves Vilnius on Wednesday night.
The numbers bear out what Franco was saying. After getting outrebounded by 9 in the first half, Hapoel controlled the boards 18-16 in the second 20 minutes. Hapoel dished 11 assists on 47 first-half points and 12 assists on 42 second-half points. And on defense, after allowing Wolves to score 44 points by halftime, Hapoel only gave up 36 in the second half.
What was remarkable about Hapoel’s energy in the second half is that the team was playing with a short roster and thus relying on a very short rotation. With stars Braian Angola, J’Covan Brown and Jaylen Hoard all out with injuries and recent signings Will Cumming and Dez Wells not eligible for this Round 2 makeup game, Franco relied heavily on his starters. Four of them played 30-plus minutes. The fifth produced his finest game yet in the competition in 29:24 on the floor.
Kyle Alexander's record night
Kyle Alexander romped with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks for a performance index rating of 37. He set a club record with 9 offensive rebounds, which were also the most of any player in the competition this season. Alexander made 8 of 9 two-pointers and finished with a PIR of 37, which is the highest for a Hapoel player all season.
Had this game been played in October when originally scheduled, Alexander’s effort would have landed him the MVP honor for the round, which went to Matt Morgan of the London Lions with a PIR of 29.
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Other players stepped up, too
Best known for his scoring prowess, Xavier Munford dished a career-high 8 assists. And Tomer Ginat played big minutes and scored 17 points in his first game back from injury.
“I’m just proud of my guys. Today was a good day for us,” Franco said. “We got Tomer [Ginat] back, he’s our franchise player. He is a big supplement for us. I am happy he came back from a long injury.”
And when the rest of the injured players are back in uniform and the newcomers have fully adjusted, the rest of the EuroCup will have a tough opponent on their hands. And that could be in April, since with this win Hapoel guaranteed that it will be in this season’s EuroCup Playoffs.