Hapoel Holon left last night (Saturday) the relegation from the State Cup behind and left a hall in the heart of the colony with an impressive away victory 81:101 over Ness Ziona City on their way to the third place in the league.
After a relatively tight first quarter, Guy Goudes' apprentices opened fire and went to the 19:30 quarter which actually decided the match.
The coach once again received a wonderful game from Joe Ragland (22 points and 9 rebounds, next to 17 points and 13 rebounds and from Chris Johnson and 23 points and 10 rebounds.
"We were very focused, we played with energy. Focused all evening. In the first half they scored only five points from a second chance, when in the previous game they killed us with it." Guy Goodes noted at the end, "I'm glad that the players accepted the challenge to play in a not easy hall. I don't know If we have a good balance of power against them. We were very determined to show the energy and that was the key."
Goodes commented on the elimination from the cup: "Every team needs a victory after a game as significant as it was. This is the test for the team, how it reacts. We received a blow and we didn't like it. This is a healthy team. Players came and pushed each other even after what happened against Hapoel Haifa. Losers and winners together".
Guy Goodes
a triumph of character,
In the club, before the game, we marked as a goal the desire to prevent as much as possible the running and passing game of the Oranges, and to present an improvement in defense, and this was the case when the champion only conceded more than 20 points per quarter in one quarter.
In the indicators of desire and sacrifice, the gap stood out even more as the Purples picked up 49 rebounds compared to the host's 30, of which 18 rebounds in attack compared to only 9 of the Purples.
Chris Johnson, who produced a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, shared his feelings at the end: "We feel better this week, after the loss I think the whole team is left with a scar because we didn't qualify for the semi-finals, but there are other important goals ahead of us and we want to continue working hard every day and get better."
After the match, the Purples will begin preparations for the European arena when on Tuesday they will host the French Strasbourg in the first match of the last 16 stage of the factory.
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