Summary of the loss of Hapoel Tel Aviv 94:89 to Besiktas in the Eurocup quarterfinals/Sport1
1.
Shock.
There is no more appropriate description of what the people and fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv felt when the elimination game ended last night (Wednesday) in Vilnius from the Eurocup.
While the players are thanking the fans who supported them throughout the game, they looked to the side and saw the Besiktas players dancing on the floor after coming back from a 21 deficit on the way to an 89:94 victory and the playoff semi-final series against France's Bourque.
This Hapoel ran with various changes from last season, and experienced disappointments last year, including a loss in the playoff final in a game they almost had in hand, but last night's elimination felt different for the team members.
"An arrow in the heart", one of the editors described it.
The dreams of the Euroleague were dashed in an instant.
The team's media personnel also recovered only after more than half an hour with a post of the end of the game.
After all, an hour earlier, the Reds led by 21 after a basket by Tomer Ginat, and went down by 18 at halftime, scoring 57 points.
Everything went in the direction of victory and promotion to the semi-finals.
But in the second half in Shikatesh, the difference began to bite, and the operator saw the train approaching and was unable to stop it.
Even when Jacoben Brown returned to the floor, he was not good enough, and Xavier Manford was seen to be in poor shape after a month without training.
Only Bar Timur and Will Cummings were there, and that wasn't enough.
The captain of the Reds finished with 13 points, as Tomer Ginat Shaoud equalized with a big 3-pointer in the last quarter.
Cummings finished with 28, 3 points less than he had in his previous elimination in the quarter-finals of the Eurocup two years ago.
Jacob Brown, who was injured, finished with 2 points, Dez Wells, who was a significant scorer in Hapoel, received less than 6 minutes and finished with 1 point, Brian Angola got into foul trouble and scored 7 points, John Holland did not score and Kyle Alexander made a series of silly mistakes And finished with 3 points and 3 rebounds.
An incomprehensible collapse.
Bar Timor last night/official website, Natalia Nunez, courtesy of Hapoel Tel Aviv
2.
Although many players were below their level, most of the arrows in Hapoel were aimed at Franco at the end.
"When everything is going for you the way things looked in the first half, that's not wisdom, the wisdom is to know how to react in a crisis, and he did everything the other way around," said one of the club's people angrily, "as if we came from the half with a completely different team, and there was no way to turn the game around."
Among the decisions receiving criticism was the decision to go with Manford in the hope that he would save the homeland, but in Hapoel they said that this was not the original plan and the injury to Jacob Brown, who was unable to return to play properly in the second half, spoiled the cards.
Dez Wells, who received only 2 minutes in the first half, found himself on the floor at the start of the second half when Besiktas started its run, "It is not clear what led to this extreme change", said the team.
And when the management of the game was not enough, even the things that Franco chose to say at the end, about the loss of proportions after the entry of Ofer Yanai to the club's owners, did not add up.
Yanai tweeted late in the evening that: "We enjoy victories, learn and draw lessons from losses. Thank you to the crowd that came and warmed our hearts. Thank you to the team for an impressive European season. The ultimate responsibility is mine. We will continue to set high expectations and make sure we meet them. We have only just begun."
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Absorbs fire.
Danny Franco/official website, Natalia Nunez, courtesy of Hapoel Tel Aviv
3.
As Shinai tweeted, Hapoel Tel Aviv has two more goals this season, the first is winning the championship, and the second is winning the state cup.
In the league, Hapoel temporarily holds the first place in the table, but is leading thanks to an extra game over Maccabi Tel Aviv.
In recent times, Hapoel felt the pressure increasing as the big game in the Eurocup approached, and big decisive games are still ahead of the team, with the quarter-finals of the State Cup expected to take place in a little more than two weeks, and the Reds have not yet won a significant knockout game, with all due respect to the victory over Maccabi Ramat Gan in the cup quarter-finals Winner of the year.
"There are enough experienced players here who have withstood the pressure, that's not our problem," they said in Hapoel during the night, "The problem last night in the game is related to the weak defense we've been showing all season. At these stages, you can't win games without saving, and it will also be in the league, maybe our talent is there It will be enough to get close to the end, but in order to complete titles we will have to keep there as well."
Ofer Yanai also knows: "You can't win without saving"/Odi Citiat
4.
As mentioned, Hapoel will now focus only on the local framework, in which it can register only five foreigners per game, and when its schedule of games will be a little more convenient and without flights, the team will have difficulty maintaining eight foreigners in the squad.
As you know, during the playoff series only one change is allowed during the series, and it is very possible that some of the foreigners will finish the season already during the month of April.
Hapoel has six foreigners who are expected to share the significant minutes between them, with the two foreigners in a less favorable position being Wells, who extended his contract during the season until its end, and John Holland.
Despite the difficult situation, the club does not intend to release any of the foreigners, unless one of them comes with an offer from another place where he can play.
Gil Benny is expected to play again towards the beginning of April, and together with the entry of Dusty Hanas, the rotation of the Reds will be ten players for the decision stages.
Will salvation come from the depths of the bench?
Dusty Hanas/Kobe Eliyahu
5.
Hapoel returned early in the morning from Vilna and will train again on Friday for the upcoming match against Hapoel Jerusalem in the league.
Jacoben Brown is expected to be absent from the game, and he is expected to be tested despite the fact that he was able to return to the game after his troublesome knee injury in the first quarter.
The team admitted that it is difficult for them to assess how they will be able to bring themselves to perform after such a disappointing relegation.
"Last season it took us almost a month to let go of this disappointment, this time we don't have that privilege," they said in Hapoel, "let's hope we can rise above the incident, but it's going to be very difficult."
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