Hapoel Jerusalem tonight (Tuesday) beat French Strasbourg 80:81 at Hafis Arena and went up to 1:2 in the round of 16 in the FIBA Champions League, thanks to an impressive fourth quarter and a winning basket by Lewai Randolph in the last second.
After defeating Hapoel Holon in the Israeli derby last week, Aleksandar Džikić's players returned to their home stadium and met Luca Banki's French team, which held a perfect balance in the round of 16 on the eve of the match.
Two important and exciting ceremonies were held in the arena before the start of the match: after the introduction of the players, the red fans threw to the floor fur dolls that were collected and will be donated to children with cancer.
In addition, there was a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the disaster that befell Turkey.
The Reds, who needed a home victory in order to continue fighting for promotion to the Big Eight stage of the factory, opened the first half wonderfully and took a quick lead thanks to amazing minutes by Zach Hankins who unquestionably dominated what was happening under the baskets on both sides of the court and scored 20 points in the first half.
The guest was not moved, remained tight and with the help of a dominant third quarter, turned the game around and gained a double-digit lead.
A great Jerusalem comeback and a winning basket by Randolph as mentioned in the last second transferred the advantage into their hands and gave them the victory in a dramatic ending.
After the match, the Jerusalemites will have a three-week break from the European plant, which will go into recess, and on Monday they will meet Hapoel Haifa in the semi-finals of the State Cup, which will be held in the capital.
Photographs: Barney Ardov
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