1. There was silence in Hapoel Jerusalem's dressing room after Sunday's 77:70 loss in the Champions League final to German Telekom Bonn.
Minutes earlier, the players thanked the crowd for their immense support throughout the season and especially during the Final Four in Malaga. "We wanted to give back to the fans for everything they do for us, but we couldn't," one club member said sadly. "I'm sad for all this crowd that came here and was with us," Orr Cornelius said after the game. "I have no words for their performance here. I appreciate each and every one who came here."
"I don't think we got a knee pick in the first quarter," the Israeli forward added of the bad start to the game. "It was a very tough game against a good team. Very disappointing. We didn't defend T.J. Shorts well enough."
Or Cornelius after losing the final // Credit: Jacob Meir, Malaga
2. While the team will make its way to Israel at noon, coach Aleksandar Dzikic will fly to Serbia this morning for the funeral of his mother Milka, who passed away last week. The Serbian coach postponed the funeral until after the Final Four to attend the games.
Along with him will fly owner Eyal Chomsky. "He wasn't supposed to be here at all," one player said after the game. "We wanted to win for him."
Aleksandar Dzikic. "Wasn't supposed to be here", photo: FIBA website
3. LeVay Randolph, who stepped up and scored 27 points, also sounded very disappointed: "A tough loss for us. They were better than us. I'm proud of my friends and coaching staff and appreciate them all. We had a great season and were one game away from the cup. It's not a good feeling now, we played hard, but it just wasn't enough."
4. Hapoel Jerusalem doesn't have too much time to rest because already on Thursday awaits them the first game of the playoff quarterfinals against Bnei Herzliya. "I believe that because of what happened here we will lift ourselves even more for the playoffs," Cornelius said. That was also Chomsky's message to the staff and players: There's no time to mourn, we have another huge task."
5. Among the fans, the loss was received with huge disappointment and many of them spent large sums of money to watch their team up close, but after the game they sounded proud of both the displays on the field and what happened in the stands.
Many of them believe that new owner Matan Adelson, who attended the games and even marched with the fans in the noisy march before the game, only got an appetite for more successes. "We feel like this is just the beginning, that this is not a one-time event that we participated in," one fan said hours after the final whistle.
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Fans of Hapoel Jerusalem in Malaga. Is this just the beginning?, Photo: FIBA website
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