By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Returning to action to start the seventh straight campaign in the Basketball Champions League, Hapoel Holon was more than ready.
Narrowly holding on to the lead down the stretch, the team coached by Amit Sherf beat Telekom Baskets Bonn, 75-74, behind closed doors in Telekom Dome.
Wake Forest product C.J. Harris was responsible for eight turnovers in a team total of 19 on Wednesday, but threw in a team-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Niv Misgav and Justin Smith finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the rescheduled Gameday 1 affair of the BCL Regular Season.
Nearly digging their way out of a double-digit hole for the second time, the defending champions failed to convert the last offense before time ran out. Oslo native Harald Frey scoring a game-high 26 points behind 9/13 field goals was not enough for the team coached by Roel Moors. The former Montana State standout also produced ten assists en route to a game-high efficiency rating of 33.
The Bonn outfit is now 1-1 in Group F with a five-game winning streak across all competitions snapped by Holon. Stuck to the injury list, both Florian Koch (back surgery) and Thomas Kennedy (knee) were unavailable.
Relocating to Cyprus to practice over recent weeks, the Israeli club traveled to Germany and earned a 1-0 start in the double-legged round-robin schedule of the four-team group. The last official action was reaching the Semifinals of Israel’s Winner League Cup more than one month ago.
Postgame press conference
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League