Disappointment in Hapoel Holon: "We need to move on and raise our heads" | Israel today

Great disappointment prevailed yesterday (Wednesday) on the faces of Hapoel Holon players and staff after the home loss at the Toto Hall 65:63 to Hapoel Jerusalem as part of the Israeli duel in the top 16 stage of the Champions League.

The Purples led by Chris Johnson and Joe Ragland were superior in the first half and even led for most of the minutes of the match, but Kadin Carrington's big winning basket, 8 seconds to the end decided the match and significantly complicated the host who dropped to a negative 2:0 balance, after losing another week of play which she had in her hands.

In addition to the rivalry and the rivalry, the meeting was of decisive importance for the chances of qualifying for the next stage of the two teams because both came to the match after losing in the first round to the French rivals who share the house with them and another loss means a drop to a negative balance, something that severely damages the team's chances of qualifying at home with only six games.

"It was a tough game, there was a lot of pressure on both teams. Most of the game we led, but with a small advantage, defensively we met the goals and stopped Hankins, we lowered their percentages to two and three", noted the coach of the host Guy Goodes at the end.

"The main damage was 15 offensive rebounds that led to 18 points, we had difficulty creating situations and lost 17 balls. It's hard to win with so many turnovers. We fell for the little things and the pace of the game was at Jerusalem's pace. They are a great defensive team and it was difficult for us to create offensively in situations that the flush didn't work."

Guy Goodes

"We fell for the little things", photo: Danny Maron

In the club, before the game, they indicated a goal to control the pace of the game and dictate a fast pace of play, but they had trouble producing in the attack facing the defense of the Reds and were stopped at 63 at home - almost 30 points less than their seasonal average at home on the eve of the game.

Except for Ragland who stood out with 19 points and 18 added by Johnson, none of the Holonia players went up or scored in double figures in the attack.

Johnson, who was one of Goodes' bright spots in the game with 18 points and 6 rebounds, shared his feelings at the end: "A difficult loss, especially because it's at home. We knew when we came into the game that they were one of the best defensive teams in the Champions League, and as you can see, they stopped us at 63 points, but We also conceded only 65. It's especially difficult at home with the atmosphere, we did a good job defensively and had a little trouble attacking, that's part of the game. The coach talked to us in the locker room and we have to move on and keep our heads up."

Chris Johnson.

The defense did not cover the attack, photo: Danny Maron

Next week the Purples will go to France and meet Dizon in the third round.

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