By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Hapoel Tel Aviv achieved a victory in Botevgrad against Real Madrid with a score of 76-69, in the third game of the Quarterfinal series, reducing the deficit to 2-1.
Elijah Bryant played an excellent game, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds, Chris Jones scored 19 also, and Vasilije Micic added 13.
Kessler Edwards also stood out with five points and ten rebounds. A potential issue for Dimitris Itoudis’ team is the injury Antonio Blakeney suffered near the end of the match.
On the other side, Trey Lyles had 14 points and five rebounds, Gabriel Deck scored 11, Facundo Campazzo 10, while Mario Hezonja and Andres Feliz each added seven.
After two consecutive wins in Madrid, and four since the start of the season, Sergio Scariolo’s team started the third game of the series better. With excellent play, Real achieved a double-digit lead in the second quarter (33-23), but the “host” came back by halftime, going into the break with only a two-point deficit (36-34 for Real).
It turned out that Hapoel made a crucial run at the beginning of the third quarter, scoring 16 consecutive points to take a +12 lead (52-40). Real managed to come back, narrowing the gap to just one point (59-58) and pushing the game into a free-throw finish, but Hapoel maintained their lead and secured the victory.
The fourth game of the series is scheduled for Thursday, also in Botevgrad.