Hapoel Tel Aviv forces Game 3 against Valencia

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

Jonathan Motley, Yam Madar, and Antonio Blakeney didn’t want their EuroCup season to end.

So they all scored more than 20 points to make things happen.

Motley with 26 points, Blakeney with 22, Madar with 21 and nine assists, plus Tomer Ginat (photo) with 12 points and eight rebounds led Hapoel to the 96-91 win over Valencia, tying their EuroCup semifinal series at 1-1.

Matt Costello, with 21 points, was the top scorer of Valencia, while Jean Montero had 10 points on just 3/13 FG and Chris Jones added eight on 3/14 FG, and both of them combined for 0/10 threes.

Impressive finish by Hapoel

Hapoel never trailed in the first half; however, Valencia stayed close, trailing by two points (23-21) in the first quarter and by five (54-49) at halftime.

Things changed in the start of the third period with a 14-4 run for Hapoel, which jumped to a 15-point advantage (68-53) with Motley scoring 20 points already.

Hapoel led by 17 points (74-57), but Valencia reacted and closed the period down by five (76-71), erasing the hosts’ effort to finish the game early.

The guests trimmed the lead to two points (83-81) with five minutes left, and everything was possible. With the game on the line, Hapoel extended the lead to seven points (90-83) after a three by Madar.

That was the end of it, with Hapoel pushing their lead to 11 points (96-85), keeping its distance until the final 96-91.

Photo credit: EuroCup