WallaSports06:30

Hapoel Tel Aviv Suffers Disappointing EuroLeague Loss to Barcelona

By אור שקדי

Translated & summarized from Walla by baba

CenterCharged tone

Hebrew · 3 newsrooms covering

Hapoel Tel Aviv lost a crucial EuroLeague game to Barcelona 93-90 in Sofia, dropping them out of the top six. The team squandered a second-half lead due to a significant scoring run by Barcelona, leading to coach Dimitris Itoudis's anger. Players acknowledged a mental lapse and the need to learn from the defeat. Hapoel now prepares for a Winner Cup final against Maccabi Tel Aviv, with potential roster changes.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Hapoel Tel Aviv lost to Barcelona 93-90 in Sofia, falling out of the EuroLeague top six.
The team collapsed in the second half after leading by nine points, allowing a 16-0 Barcelona run.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis was angry, calling the loss a mental failure where the team stopped playing.
Players Vassilije Micic and Elijah Bryant combined for 49 points in the disappointing defeat.
Hapoel now faces Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Winner Cup final and may alter their roster.

Hapoel Tel Aviv experienced significant disappointment following their 93-90 loss to Barcelona in Sofia on Thursday. This defeat caused the team to temporarily fall out of the top six in the EuroLeague standings, bringing their record to six wins and four losses. Hapoel controlled the first half, appearing stronger and even establishing an early lead, but Barcelona remained competitive, and the teams went into halftime tied.

Hapoel started the second half strongly, building a nine-point advantage. However, at 60-53 in their favor, Barcelona launched a decisive 16-0 run that caught Hapoel unprepared. By the final quarter, Barcelona had extended their lead to 14 points. Hapoel managed a comeback, and in the closing moments, Vassilije Micic had an opportunity to force overtime with a three-pointer but missed.

Following the game, coach Dimitris Itoudis expressed anger at his players for the second-half collapse. "This was a game we should have won, a game that was very reminiscent of our loss to Bayern Munich earlier in the season," Hapoel sources stated. "Back then, Bayern also went on a run, and we couldn't recover. This was a mental loss; we simply stopped playing at a certain point." The team denied arriving at the game complacent after a recent derby win, explaining that they knew their opponent and that Barcelona stayed in the game, eventually pulling away when Hapoel eased up.

Micic acknowledged the tough loss, noting that he and Elijah Bryant scored 49 of the team's 90 points. "We need to learn the lesson from today. I think we had good minutes in the game and very bad minutes, so from these bad minutes, we must learn," he said. Teammate J'Covan Brown added, "They wanted it more. This is basketball, this is our job, this is our life. Now we have to look forward. We have a derby soon against Maccabi. We will watch the film of this game; we must move on."

The team is scheduled to return to Israel on Friday and begin preparations for their upcoming Winner Cup final against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Saturday. Hapoel may make roster changes for the cup game, as different foreign players can be registered for this competition compared to league play. "If we come with this attitude to the derby, Maccabi will blow us out too," Hapoel sources commented after the game. "This was a wake-up call; we must recover."