Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Gran Canaria convincingly 74-65 as Jonathan Motley proved to be unstoppable in a pivotal third quarter that helped the Reds to a double digit lead and moved them to within one win from capturing the EuroCup title and a place in the Euroleague for next season. Game two will be played on Friday night in the Canary Islands as Gran Canaria’s backs will be against the wall, however, should they win and tie the series up at 1-1 a decisive game three will take place back in Samokov, Bulgaria Hapoel’s home court due to the ongoing security situation in Israel.

Yam Madar and Antonio Blakeney were key contributors as the game got underway as George Conditt and Andrew Albicy tried to keep the visitors close but key baskets from Bruno Caboclo and Jonathan Motley sent Hapoel into halftime holding a 39-36 lead. Motley came out like a man possessed in the third quarter as he scored at will as Marcus Foster also found points to give the Dimitrios Itoudis’s team a double digit lead as they chalked up the victory.

Motley scored 18 points, Blakeney added 17 points as Foster and Madar each scored 10 points in the win. Conditt scored 12 points, Caleb Homesley put in 11 points while John Shura and Albicy each scored 10 points in the loss.

Andrew Albicy and Joe Thomasson scored for Gran Canaria, while a red hot Yam Madar and Antonio Blakeney countered for Hapoel Tel Aviv to give the Reds a 15-11 lead midway through the first quarter. Albicy and Blakeney traded triples, George Conditt scored a pair of baskets but another bucket from Blakeney kept the Reds in front 22-18 after ten minutes of play.

Miquel Salvo and Caleb Homesley opened the second quarter with points, Blanekey and Conditt traded buckets, Albicy put in a 3-point play, Bruno Caboclo went from deep and Jonathan Motley scored from the inside to keep Hapoel in front 39-36 at halftime.

Motley started to impact the game with points a plenty to start the third quarter, Tomer Ginat added points, Thomasson and John Shurna tried to keep Jaka Lakovic’s team close, Marcus Foster went from deep and Blakeney rocked the rim to give Dimitrios Itoudis’s team a 60-50 advantage after thirty minutes of action.

Blakeney picked up another pair of points to get the fourth quarter underway, Ish Wainright and Caboclo both drilled home a corner 3-balls, Nicolas Brussino, Albicy and Shurna tried to keep Gran Canaria close but not close enough as the reds took the game one win.

Hapoel owner Ofer Yannay spoke about the process of being so close to winning the EuroCup, “We had the dream and we wanted to bring in the most talented players which was followed up by bringing in a top coach in Dimitrios Itoudis. We have been able to get the maximum out of this process. I understand that we still have work to do and I also know that this is something huge for the club and for the country. We are working on getting into the Euroelague not only through the EuroCup but also by obtaining a B license. This will do so much for Israel as well. I hope that we don’t have to come back to Samokov for another game and that we ca go into Passover with a title.”

“Congrats to the players,” a thrilled Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis said. “It was a game that you could see how composed the team was win on both sides of the ball. We understood at halftime what we needed to do defensively. There are small details that have to be decisive at certain moments and the defense really decided the game. It feels like we are playing ay home here in Samokov, but let’s bring the games back to Tel Aviv. We will watch the film, analyze and see how it goes from there as we prepare for game two.”

“It was a very physical game,” Gran Canaria Head Coach Jaka Lakovic said. “Every possession was on a foul limit, both teams played very aggressive throughout the whole game. Our first half was solid and we were in the game but the start of the third quarter was crucial for the result of the game. A couple of bad decisions and Hapoel took advantage by 10 point lead and controlled it from there. We had our chances to come back but all in all I thought even with bad percentages from the 3-point line we played a good game. Now we are focusing on the second game.”

The game MVP Jonathan Motley spoke about the win, “I did everything to help my team win and we want to try to keep going and win the next game. We were happy with the defense but we were missing some offensive execution in the first half. We wanted to come out aggressive in the third quarter I wanted to help out and I started that. If we keep playing defense like this we will be hard to beat. The goal will be to hold them to 60 points next game and we have so much talent that the offense will take care of itself.”

Antonio Blakeney also reflected on the win, “We are just worried about winning and we don’t care at this point who scores and who hits the shots, we just want to win. Coach is on me about my defense every day and he has told me to be better on defense and make the right pass. That has added a dimension to my game to help the team. I am always ready for big games and I let my work speak on the court. I haven’t played many games in Europe but I have a great supporting cast here. We are going to attack the upcoming days and we will prepare for the next game and focus each day to get ready for that game.”