Ante Tomic had big numbers, but was not alone among bigs who shined for Joventut
Joventut’s frontline was too much for Hapoel
Article
3 Mins read
There has been much talk about the quality of the frontline that Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv put together, with players arriving from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the NBA. But on opening night, Joventut Badalona’s bigs made the difference in leading their team to a 78-75 win.
Thirty-seven-year-old center Ante Tomic turned back the clock as he set a EuroCup career-high in PIR with 32. He scored 17 points with just one missed shot and grabbed 12 rebounds. Both of those numbers were game-highs.
There was no drop off in production when Tomic rested as Artem Pustovyi stepped up with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Meanwhile, newcomer Kaiser Gates poured in 4 three-pointers in amassing 16 points and 4 rebounds from the power forward spot.
“It was a good test for us, opening the season in front of our crowd against probably the best team in the EuroCup,” Tomic said after the game. “An important game for us to see where we stand at this moment. I am very, very proud of these guys for what we did today.”
With the game in the balance entering the fourth quarter, Joventut’s big men answered the bell. Tomic scored 6 points in the last quarter, including the first two baskets of the stanza to increase the pressure on Hapoel. When the visitors closed the gap to 63-62, Gates responded with a clutch triple. Then Pustovyi came to the fore with a three-point play.
Their play led to Joventut outrebounding Hapoel 40-38, which helped overcome the 14 turnovers that the hosts committed. The trio was a combined 10 for 10 on free throws (Pustovyi made 5 of those and Gates 4).
Game Videos
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Dotson creates, Pustovyi destroys! Magic Moment
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Ragland sends Caboclo dunkin'! Magic Moment
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Caboclo’s big block! Magic Moment
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Blayzer swats Schenk! Magic Moment
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Ginat beats the buzzer! Magic Moment
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Tomic drops the dime! Magic Moment
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Pustovyi slams it home! Magic Moment
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Motley assists Timor for the three-point play! Magic Moment
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Monster dunk from Pustovyi! Magic Moment
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Big dunk from Pustovyi! Magic Moment
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Nice dunk by Yannick Kraag! Magic Moment
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Dotson beats the halftime buzzer with a very long three! Magic Moment
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Kraag with the dunk on a fastbreak! Magic Moment
- 03:42
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Foster hammers it home! Magic Moment
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Sasa Obradovic: 'It was over my expectations'
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Magic Moment of the Night: Pustovyi dunks with force!
- 03:45
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Magic Moment: Dotson hits a buzzer-beating triple!
- 00:09
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Magic Moment: Pustovyi dunks with force!
- 00:12
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Magic Moment: Michael Ruzic stops Noa Essengue!
- 00:52
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- 03:37
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Magic Moment: Pustovyi hammers it home!
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On the other side, the entire Hapoel team was just 8 of 15 (53.3%) from the line. Bruno Caboclo posted 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals in defeat and Johnathan Motley had 11 points and 6 boards before leaving the game late with an apparent leg injury, but starting power forward Ben Bentil had just 6 points on 0-for-4 three-point shooting and 1 rebound.
While Hapoel will have to go back to the drawing board as it seeks its first win of the season next week against Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, Joventut will head to Germany next week to face ratiopharm Ulm armed with the knowledge that its frontline has proven itself already to be among the most dangerous in the competition.