By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Johnathan Motley had 18 points, four rebounds and three assists as Hapoel Tel Aviv beat Gran Canaria 74 – 65 to take a 1-0 lead in the EuroCup best-of-three Finals.
“I really wanted to do everything to help my team win. This means everything for me and the team,” Motley said. “We were happy with the defense in the first half but I think we were missing some offensive execution. I wanted to come out in the third quarter and bring out some energy.”
Indeed. Motley erupted in the beginning of the second half with 12 points in less than five minutes to lift Hapoel toward taking a 53 – 50 advantage. This proved to be decisive for the rest of the game.
“I want to apologize to Motley that I didn’t sub him in the second half,” mentioned Hapoel coach Dimitris Itoudis.
Gran Canaria tried to make a comeback but Hapoel always kept their opponents at a distance of eight points or more. With 5:26 remaining, Bruno Caboclo put Hapoel ahead 71 – 56 and the Israeli team remained in control down the stretch to get the win.
Antonio Blakeney added 17 points plus five rebounds for Hapoel while Yam Madar had 10 points and five assists. Marcus Foster scored 10.
George Conditt (12 poins, eight rebounds), Caleb Homesley (11 points, six assists), John Surna (10 points, six rebounds) and Andrew Albicy (10 points) scored in double figures for Gran Canaria that hosts a win-or-go-home Game 2 in Las Palmas Friday (11/4).