Hapoel Holon slipped by Besiktas 72-70 thanks to a clutch 3-pointer by Guy Pnini to stave off elimination and force a decisive game three next week in Israel. The victory marked brand new head coach Guy Goodes first with his new club after taking over the reins from Maurizio Buscaglia who was let go after last week’s defeat at home to the Turkish squad.
The hosts came out flying early as they grabbed a quick 26-13 lead after the first quarter, but Adam Smith and Rafi Menco began scoring at will to pull the Purples to within 7-points, 44-37 at halftime. Goodes had his squad playing airtight defense in the third period as Chris Johnson and company held Besiktas to just 11 points to cut down the lead to just a pair of points, 65-63 heading into the final frame. Both teams went back and forth over the course of the fourth quarter as Joe Ragland orchestrated the Holon offense and with 18 seconds left in regulation time Guy Pnini gave Goodes’s squad the lead for good to wrap up the win and send the series back to the Holy Land.
Johnson led all scorers with 18 points, Rafi Menco added 14 points, Adam Smith chipped in with 11 points and Ragland scored 10 points and dished out 9 assists in the win. Egehan scored 17 points, Kenan Sipahi added 15 points and Dedric Lawson scored 13 points in the defeat.
“I want to congratulate our organization that we won here in a tough situation against a good team,” Goodes said. “The players showed a lot of effort and in the last quarter we played better defense. Guy Pinini made a big three point shot from the corner. We take this to the third game and that was our goal. We are looking forward to that game.“
“Holon were able to postpone a game and it made a difference in our stamina and our players showed their fatigue,” Besiktas coach Ahmet Kandemir said following the game. “Isaiah Whitehead was missing for us and we had a couple players who came back but didn’t play at their peak because this was the first game back after injuries. I congratulate Holon. We are balanced and equal teams.”
The game’s MVP Chris Johnson also reflected on the close win, “Tonight we showed a lot of character. We picked up in the second quarter and we stayed together. We stayed awake in the second half and we had Guy (Pnini) who made a clutch shot for us.”
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