Ticked: Sports Events Summary Clip, May 14 (Sports5)
Despite the huge support of about 4,000 fans in the arena in Malaga and the sacrifice game of the players, Hapoel Jerusalem failed to win a second European title in its history when it lost 77:70 to German Bonn in the FIBA Champions League final on Sunday.The
Reds can be proud of a wonderful European season that culminated in the dramatic semi-final victory over Tenerife on Friday, and will now return to the Premier League play-off series and try to complete a historic double, After they had already hoisted the State Cup.
Jerusalem coach Aleksandar Dzikic will not return to Israel with the team tomorrow. He will take off directly from Malaga to Serbia to pay his last respects to his mother Milka, who died in the middle of last week, and attend her funeral. The club's outgoing owner, Eyal Chomsky, will accompany him.
At the end of the game there was a nice gesture, as the Jerusalem and Bonn fans cheered each other on and chanted the opponent's name. The legendary Luis Scola, an ambassador for the factory, said: "There was a great atmosphere, the fans cheered each other on, the atmosphere is very healthy, it was a lot of fun. For games like this we play. I'm not on the pitch anymore, and now all I have to do is watch them and have fun."
"Every kid fantasizes about it." T.J. Shorts (Photo: official website, FIBA Champions League)
Zach Hankins cried after the loss: "It's a very hard feeling. They're very talented, they know how to score, they have an amazing point guard, great defense, we couldn't stop him (Shorts). I am very proud. Our coach went through a tragedy... We have an amazing group, we didn't expect to come so close to the cup, we met the challenge, but I'm very proud of the players here, my friends."
T.J. Shorts, Boone's star: "I don't know what I'm feeling anymore, but that's what we've been working for since the first minute of the season. I'm grateful to the whole club, everyone who believed in me. I always believed. At the beginning of the season the coach set the standards, knew exactly what he wanted, and it paid off, we won the cup. I love these stands, every actor dreams of these moments, every child fantasizes about it, and now I'm an adult and I'm here. Tonight we will celebrate. I know my family is watching me, my mother in the stands, the crowd that traveled especially from Germany, the atmosphere here is amazing, it's a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life."
More in Walla!
Short and short: Hapoel Jerusalem lost 77:70 to Telecom Bonn
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They wanted more, proud of themselves. Smith (Photo: official website, FIBA Champions League)
Kadyn Carrington summed up the European season: "It definitely hurt. I think we could have adapted better to the game. I'm very proud of every player here in the team, everyone gave everything. I wish things would have worked differently, but honestly I can't say how proud I am of my friends. It was very hard to get here in the first place. We really wanted it to end in victory. The coach and professional staff was amazing. The fact that Dzikic's mother passed away and he stayed with us is not a given. It's a special group. It was a great season in the FIBA Champions League."
Oz Blazer shared: "Not an easy feeling. We wanted it so much for our coach and home crowd who accompanied us here. We'll have to digest it. We've done a lot to get here and I hope we'll be looking forward, because we have another big goal. There is something special about this dressing room. We won't let this loss finish us."
On tonight's game: "Every time we managed to come back they made the right move to stop the comeback. It wasn't our best game, but hope we managed to somehow make our audience proud. Let's hope to come back here."
- sport
- basketball
- Euroleague and European basketball
Tags
- Hapoel Jerusalem
- Aleksandar Dzikić