By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Backed by Marcelinho Huertas, Lenovo Tenerife survived a big comeback by Hapoel U-NET Holon to clinch a berth in the Basketball Champions League Final. The Canary Islands outfit will take on ACB rival Baxi Manresa or German side MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg for the title on Sunday.
After dropping a 12-point lead, Tenerife dominated in crunch time with the experienced Brazilian guard delivering yet another clutch bucket for a three-point lead with 1:43 left in the exciting contest. “In the end, I think we were better in defense and did not allow open shots. Offensively, we were patient and knew what we wanted,” he said.
“I think the main key to handling pressure is to stay calm and focus on the next play. Sometimes, when you go through a bad stretch as we did, we can’t be thinking about what already happened,” Huertas commented on his side recovering the lead and securing the win in Bilbao Arena, “We must focus on what is coming, not what is in the past.”
“They made many changes in defense to come back. It was not all on us,” pointed out Bilbao-born play-caller Txus Vidorreta, “In the end, we found the answers. This is a big win.”
“Maybe we were in shock in the beginning, since this was our first time in the Final Four,” Hapoel Holon boss Guy Goodes described the lack of experience, “We had a lot of players that have never been in this stage. It took us a lot of time to understand where we are and what we need to do.”
His side dug its way out of a 12-point hole before surrendering. Joe Ragland fueling the comeback went for 22 points. “We fought back and had a chance to win the game, credit to our hard work. It just did not happen that way,” the 32-year-old guard explained.
The first Israeli side to extend its campaign to the BCL Final Four will stay in Bilbao to play in the third-place game on Sunday.
“In halftime, I think we made some changes mentally,” Goodes walked through the improved effort for a large chunk of the second half, “We started to play our game, more relaxed, more aggressive, covered a lot of spaces, started to make some shots. And then, two minutes before the end, the game could have gone both ways. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes. Tenerife and its experienced players used our mistakes to win the game.”
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League