By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
MALAGA, Spain – A brilliant effort for Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem advanced the team coached by Aleksandar Dzikic to the championship game of the 2023 Basketball Champions League Final Four.
Dzikic, 52, mainly praised losing side Lenovo Tenerife and especially Marcelinho Huertas in the postgame press conference following the Semifinal held in Malaga’s Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Friday.
“I wished we played them more times,” he initially explained his approach to the team located in the Canary Islands, “They are helping you. They are good. They make you do your best. Everything you try, they have a counter. Then you try something else, they have a re-counter. And we beat them.”
After mishandling a 15-point advantage, the nail-biter was decided with Bruno Fitipaldo missing a three-pointer at the buzzer. “If we want to be honest, he missed an open shot,” noted Dzikic.
“He is the living proof that age is a number,” the Serbian tactician focused on 39-year-old floor general Huertas, “We really tried a lot and we kept that switch until the end and it worked. But still, he created an open shot.”
“If they made that shot, we would be a tough opponent. But now we are winners,” added Dzikic.
Levi Randolph threw in 12 points for the team based in Jerusalem. “We had an offensive spark in the third quarter,” he commented on building a 15-point lead, “We were able to get going. We rallied behind that. We were able to get stops.”
“We work hard. It is a testament to our team and our coach. We take from his identity. He’s a fighter and we are fighters,” added the former Alabama standout, “We kept pushing and somehow we found a way.”
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League