Hapoel Holon came to the game last night (Tuesday) in Belgium hanging on to itself and a victory sends them directly to the last 16 of the Champions League, but they suffered a loss to Ostend after extra time 95:86, and as a result of the result, Guy Goodes' men will have to win in the play-in series in order to qualify for the next stage .
The Belgians, for whom the game was not important because they secured their place in the play-in stage from third place at home, did not intend to make life easy for the Israeli champion and even led five seconds to the end, but a huge three-pointer by Sean Dawson at the end sent the game to overtime.
In the remaining five minutes, the local Tyree Bryan took over the game with a record showing of 31 points and inflicted a painful away loss on the Purples.
"We lost this game on the defensive side, we allowed them to score 25 points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. This is a difficult and disappointing loss for us, we came with confidence that we are able to carry out the task but the reality was different", stated Guy Goodes at the end.
The rebounds proved to be a decisive factor in the game, with Ostend outscoring Holon 33:47 and 6:14 in offensive rebounds leading to a 7:17 advantage in second chance points.
"At the end of the day you have to take care of the basics and the defense, they punished us with that and won," Goodes added.
Guy Goodes on the lines, photo: FIBA Champions League
Shawn Dawson, who recorded a good game personally with 11 points and 9 rebounds as well as a three-pointer that sent the game to overtime, shared his feelings at the end: "This was a very important game for us in order to qualify directly for the next stage, we knew that the task was not going to be easy and indeed it was a game It's hard. We fought but didn't play good enough defense to get the win. They scored big baskets and Tyree was exceptional. We'll go to the play-in and do what we have to do there."
The Purples will enjoy the home advantage in the play-in when they meet the loser in tomorrow's game between Igoca and Bakhchshir for a best-of-three series.
If it passes the series, Holon will be included in the second group stage, which will begin on January 24, with Hapoel Jerusalem, Strasbourg and the winner between Dijon and one of Bnei Herzliya, Ritas Vilna or Peristri.
The four teams at home will play six rounds, at the end of which the first two will advance to the quarter-final stage, which will be held in a best-of-three series series.
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