By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The outcome of the game between Hapoel Jerusalem and Benfica in Round 6 of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season couldn’t affect the standings in Group G, with the Israeli team previously securing advancement to the Round of 16, and the Portuguese side having no chances to move from the bottom.
However, Hapoel Jerusalem found more motivation, and in their temporary home in Belgrade’s Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, they recorded the most convincing victory of the Group Stage, with a final score of 97-68.
Hapoel is already placed in Group K in the next phase, alongside Lenovo Tenerife, and is awaiting two teams from the Play-ins.
Levi Randolph had his best performance of the season, leading Hapoel with 32 points, while Oz Blayzer and Brynton Lemar followed with 11 points each, and Khadeen Carrington adding 10 points for the winning side.
Terrell Carter with 22 and Aaron Broussard with 17 points stood out for Benfica.
The Jerusalem side pulled away in the second period, allowing their opponents just nine points and going to halftime leading 52-33. Benfica couldn’t respond in the third quarter, and it was all over after 30 minutes in Belgrade.
Hapoel had a great shooting night, hitting 16 three-pointers out of 23 attempts for an impressive precision of 69.75%. They also dominated the rebounds with 39, against 21 from Benfica, and had 24 team assists.
Postgame press conference
Photo: fiba.basketball