Thursday comes around yet again and here we are at the 8888 Arena in Sofia. Once again against a super-team that came all the way from Athens but feels completely at home. Once again a close game. Once again a 4-point margin, but not in the right direction for Hapoel Tel Aviv, who fall to Olympiacos in a high-level EuroLeague matchup that further removes the “rookie” scent from the Reds as they compete in Europe’s top league.

Similar (yet still different) to the game played five months ago in Piraeus, Hapoel Tel Aviv lost to a better, deeper and especially more experienced team. Yet both then and to a certain extent now, they didn’t lose because they played worse basketball, less talented, less accurate, or less efficient. Despite the monstrous roster at Bartzokas’ disposal, with endless front-court depth, bulldogs in the backcourt and that Alec Peters guy turning every ball into a highlight, Hapoel had plenty of opportunities to win this game.

If I may borrow a metaphor from Formula 1 (a world I don’t pretend to understand), I’d say that the car from Tel Aviv can drive just as fast as the one from Piraeus, but it’s far less skilled in the sharp turns, the pit stops and the tire changes. Sometimes (so I’ve been told), an entire race is decided by a tire change.

Speaking basketball, Hapoel generally played its game well. They were just 3 points shy of their season average (88). They shot a solid 41% from beyond the arc. They dished out 21 assists, a high number for them and committed only 7 turnovers, which was very low for them. They opened the game nearly perfectly with five strong offensive punches and five defensive stops, leading to an exciting 11–0 run. They showed composure, flashes of the character that beat Panathinaikos and managed to climb out of several small holes in the second half until they couldn’t anymore.

Individually, it was a solid night for the stars (more Elijah Bryant and Antonio Blakeney, less Dan Oturu) and a pretty good night for the players who have been stepping up lately—though they’d have earned more praise had they scored just five more points. Vasilije Micic was excellent with 14 points on 62% shooting and 8 assists to just 2 turnovers. Chris Jones went even further, continuing to pass instead of forcing things, he also finished with 8 assists, zero turnovers and shot 3-of-4 from deep. Colin Malcolm continues to build offensive confidence, reaching double figures again and adding 6 rebounds.

Last but not least is Tai Odiase, who is officially pushing Jonathan Motley to the edge of the rotation. The Puerto Rican big (yes, really) has great chemistry with the two point guards mentioned earlier, each of whom assisted him twice, finishes he converted with confidence against solid defenders. On the downside, he must improve his rebounding on both ends, but one step at a time.

Wait, what about the winners? Olympiacos arrived for Sasha Vezenkov’s “Home Town Tour” as the best offensive team in the EuroLeague and they stayed that way. With a performance like Tyler Dorsey’s, who even remembers Evan Fournier’s absence? Cory Joseph turned back the clock and made people forget about Frank Ntilikina. Nikola Milutinov (0 rebounds) and Vezenkov (just 10 points) had quiet nights, so Georgios Bartzokas got 4 assists from Moustapha Fall and an explosive contribution from Donta Hall with 6 points, 5 rebounds and a +18 plus/minus in under 12 minutes (!). Kostas Papanikolaou and Tyson Ward added five triples and the cherry on top was Alec Peters, who grabbed 8 rebounds, 5 offensive and turned them into 11 points. With a roster like that, it’s not easy to lose a basketball game.

Again, the argument is that Hapoel Tel Aviv didn’t lose because Olympiacos is better (which is probably true). They lost in the small moments, where it’s not about talent, but about decision-making, determination, intensity, composure and focus. Focus!

Exhibit A: With just six seconds left in the first half, Hapoel led by three with a foul to give. A timeout by Itoudis and four seconds of basketball later, they were down by one after a three-pointer and a foul by Blakeney on Dorsey. Two seconds later, they were down three after a turnover that left 0.4 seconds on the clock. Enough time for Hall to finish an alley-oop, guarded by just one red-shirted defender. Those six seconds cost Hapoel 6 points.

Exhibit B: In the third quarter of the previous game in Piraeus, Hapoel scored just 4 points, a brutal record, of course. They were supposed to learn from that experience what to do when shots aren’t falling. Yet despite scoring droughts at the end of the first and third quarters, Itoudis’ team didn’t step to the free-throw line until there were 9:19 left in the fourth quarter. In such a physical, intense game, with guards capable of attacking the paint, Hapoel should have come away with more than just 6 points from the line.

Exhibit C: 86–84 to the Greeks, 1:20 remaining. Hapoel forces Joseph into a tough, off-balance miss at the end of the shot clock but loses the rebound to Vezenkov. Another late-clock situation this time Dorsey launches a short three, but Bryant loses focus on the box-out, allowing Peters to come all the way from the corner, grab offensive rebound number 12 and score the final field goal of the game.

Overall, Hapoel Tel Aviv can take plenty of positives from this performance against the EuroLeague leaders, just before the true final stretch of the season. Broadly speaking, Micic is finding his rhythm. The offense is clicking, and the rotation is solidifying. They looked the Greeks straight in the eye. But as it turns out, the biggest wins are often found in the smallest details.