Hapoel Holon did not struggle and returned to the winning track last night (Saturday) after beating Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 89:96 at the Toto Hall thanks to a wonderful game by Chris Johnson who led the champion's scoring list with 24 points.
Four days after the painful loss to the French Strasbourg in the FIBA Champions League, Guy Goodes' apprentices returned to the local arena, enjoying a successful shooting night and high percentages from all ranges (57% for three, 59% for two points), on the way to another home victory against the leader of the table.
The players of Ariel Beit Lahemi started the game well and took an early lead in the first quarter, but a wonderful second quarter by the host team, which they won 14:28 thanks to wonderful minutes by Hayden Dalton and Chris Johnson, turned the score around and gave the champion a promising double-digit advantage, which they kept until the end.
"We arrived after a difficult game in France and we felt a big miss there. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game because Gilboa/Galil is fighting to stay in the league and every move is important for them," stated Guy Goodes at the end.
"It was a good fight and in the end we achieved an important victory. In a long season you have to know how to collect victories and move forward. Big teams also know how to take advantage of such games."
The club expressed satisfaction with the performance of Chris Johnson, who led the champion's scorers list with 24 points and 7 rebounds, along with a fight and wonderful minutes on the defensive side: "Chris does what he does all the time, he will always give 100 percent on the field, sometimes He will be felt more in the attack and sometimes less," Goodes complimented our captain.
Johnson.
Yesterday, photo: Oded Karni
"The last game in France was difficult for all of us and we felt a failure. What's good about this team is that after a day when we were down we knew how to pick ourselves back up. I'm happy that we found a way to win, it was important for us to get another league victory," shared his feelings at the end of Niv Mashgav who contributed 14 points
Moments of concern passed over the bench of the Purples in the final seconds of the match when C.J. Harris went down to the bench and complained of pain in his shoulder, remembering the blow he received in the same area in the game in France.
The guard will be examined in order to diagnose his condition and the severity of the injury.
After the match, the Purples will begin preparations for the European arena, when on Wednesday they will host Hapoel Jerusalem at the Toto Hall for an intriguing Israeli encounter as part of the second match in the top 16 stage of the FIBA Champions League.
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