By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 3rd place game of the Basketball Champions League ended up being a one-man show. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg got the 88-68 win over Hapoel Holon and Justin Simon with 27 points made a case about him not voted in the best five of the Basketball Champions League season.
As coach John Patrick admitted during his halftime interview, his player wanted to prove that “he belonged to the best five of the tournament”. And Simon did that from the first minute.
“This is my professional career-high,” confirmed the St. John’s product, who also became the player with the most points in a single BCL Final Four contest, “I think we found our identity tonight. We got back to playing our brand of basketball. Forced a lot of turnovers and caused havoc.”
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg completed the first half leading by 13 (42-29). While Holon simply couldn’t score, Justin Simon was amazing with 16 points in the first quarter and 21 at the end of the first half.
Holon, which canceled the morning practice before the game, simply was not ready for the challenge. With Jordan Hulls adding 15 points and making key three pointers, MHP Riesen led even by 28 points (82-54) and there was no coming back for the Israelis.
“I am really proud of the way we bounced back. Also after losing two to Holon, we finally beat them. Maybe that gave us the mental edge since we lost the first two games. I am just really proud we showed the character after an extremely frustrating game, especially in offense on Friday against Manresa,” said the winning head coach in the postgame press conference.
Tyrus McGee scored 14 points, but neither he or any of his teammates was a factor in the game. “I am proud and disappointed,” he explained after the game, “Who likes to lose? We came here, we gave it our all. We made history for the club.”
“The third-place games are among the toughest games to play. Unfortunately, I have been in this situation as a player. Not everybody can play this game,” added head coach Guy Goodes, “Ludwigsburg was more energetic and focused, playing its style in the game. We were kind of two or three steps behind.”
MHP Riesen finished third in the Basketball Champions League season, making an extra step compared to the 2018 BCL Final Four in Athens, when they finished fourth after losing to UCAM Murcia in the 3rd place game.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League