Hapoel Jerusalem, Khadeen Carrington stave off Tenerife, make first-ever BCL title game / News - Basketnews.com

Hapoel Jerusalem gave up on a 15-point lead, but eventually downed Tenerife 69-68 in the first semi-final game of the 2023 BCL Final Four.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

19 years after winning the ULEB Cup in 2004, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem advanced to their first-ever FIBA ​​Champions League final game with a hard-fought 68-68 win over champions Lenovo Tenerife.

Free throws this season

79%13,7Points made:13,7Accuracy:79,2%Place in standings:19Record max:22Record min:5Most made FTs:Giorgio ShermadiniTeamBCLStatisticsSchedule

The Reds from the Israeli capital forced their opponents to an early exit since Tenerife had never lost a BCL semi-final game. Backed by 3,000 Israeli fans at the Martin Carpena Arena, Malaga, Hapoel also became the first Israeli team to make the title game since the tournament was first introduced in 2017.

Led by Khadeen Carrington, who scored 19 points and the go-ahead basket with 21 seconds to go, Jerusalem managed to regain momentum following Tenerife's comeback from a 15-point deficit.

Despite the death of his mother, coach Aleksandar Dzikic was in the sidelines, guiding his players, who wore black ribbons on their jerseys in her memory.

Hapoel Jerusalem, who beat AEK Athens 2-1 in the playoff series leading up to the Final Four, will play the winner of the matchup featuring hosts Unicaja Malaga and Telekom Basket Bonn that starts at 20:30 CET.

Even though Tenerife maintained the lead throughout the first quarter, Hapoel not only stayed close (18-15), but they also managed to cut down the Spanish team's offensive flow with some tough defense.

Giorgi Shermadini, who lost a few battles to Zach Hankins in the first quarter, came up big in the first two minutes of the second. The big man from Georgia scored five points and gave his side a temporary seven-point lead (24-17) that was responded to immediately by Hapoel's low-post action.

Jerusalem's defense began to give more vital signs and Randolph with a big three-pointer, just before the end of the first half, brought Jerusalem up 34-30. Carrington made it a ten-point game for the Israelis (32-42) with eight straight points at the beginning of the third quarter. Txus Vidorretta realized his team couldn't defend in transition and paid a heavy toll for turning the ball over.

Bruno Fitipaldo scored his first 3-pointer of the game to cut down the deficit to five, but Dzikic's men geared up for good, leaving their opponents scoreless for more than four minutes. In the meantime, Brandon Brown had taken over from Carrington and broke the game open with his daggers (37-52). The Huertas-Shermadini combo gave Tenerife some hope, as the Spanish side had only dished 5 assists in the first 28 minutes.

Leandro Bolmaro made the contest more interesting with a 3-pointer (52-57), but Sander-Vene returned the favor. Tenerife increased the on-ball press, forcing some turnovers. Aaron Doornekamp drained another one from a long distance to bring the reigning champs within reach (55-57).

It was Jerusalem's turn to go through an offensive meltdown, which became all the more painful when Fran Guerra completed his team's comeback with a put-back and less than four minutes left. Marcelinho scored a jumper to make it 61-58.

Hapoel seemed to be at a loss before Levi Randolph came to the rescue with a couple of free throws and Sander-Vene hit an incredible 3-point shot while drawing the foul from Doornekamp.

With the game tied at 67 and 48 seconds left on the clock, Shermadini made one free throw giving Carrington the chance to change the scenery once again. The American guard made the go-ahead layup for the Israeli side and Vidorreta called a timeout with 21 seconds left.

Huertas drove to the basket, and made the kick-out pass to Fitipaldo for an open 3-point shot that missed the target by a mile.

Lenovo Tenerife: Marcelinho Huertas 20 (9/12 FG, 2/2 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST, 3 T0, 2 ST), Giorgi Shermadini 18 (7/11 FG, 4/5 FT, 6 REB, 3 AST), Fran Guerra 7 (5 REB), Aaron Doornekamp 6.

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem: Khadeen Carrington 19 (7/14 FG, 3/3 FT), Siim Sander-Vene 15 (4/5 FG, 4/5 FT, 4 REB), Levi Randolph 12, Brandon Brown 11 (4/4 FG, 3 REB).

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