X-Man! Xavier Munford’s game wining triple gives Hapoel Tel Aviv 84-82 victory over Turk Telekom

Jan 24, 2023 | Holyland Hoops

Xavier Munford proved to be absolutely unstoppable as his game winning triple with 5 seconds to go gave Hapoel Tel Aviv a 84-82 win over Türk Telekom in EuroCup action. The Reds guard came up huge down the stretch by hitting a trio of triples to help Danny Franco’s squad come back from a 82-74 deficit with two minutes remaining in the final frame and chalk up the win. Munford, who had a hot hand all game long scored 11 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and went an almost perfect 7/8 from beyond the arc.

The highly anticipated matchup saw Hapoel Tel Aviv come into the continental clash in third place with a 7-4 record against a Turk team that began the game 8-3 good for second place as the Reds looked to continue their recent run of good results which included a 96-95 Derby win over Maccabi Tel Aviv earlier in the week.

Jaylen Hoard – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Tomer Ginat, Jaylen Hoard and Xavier Munford all got busy early for Hapoel to grab a 20-15 lead after ten minutes of action, but Tony Taylor, Axel Bouteille and Jerian Grant responded for Erdem Can’s club to cut the Tel Aviv advantage to just 39-37 at halftime.

Xavier Munford – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Chinanu Onuaku who was in early foul trouble began to impact the game at the beginning of the third period and Munford continued with the hot hand to bump the lead up to 65-57 with ten minutes remaining in the clash. But Grant and Bouteille started making basket after basket from downtown to go ahead 82-74 with two minutes left in regulation time. However, Munford would have the last word as he drilled home the game winning 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go while Grant’s last gasp game tying effort left his hands just after time expired as the Reds took the win.

Xavier Munford – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Munford led the way with 33 points, Hoard added 17 points and 9 rebounds while Onuaku and Ginat each scored 9 points in the victory. Bouteille paced Turk with 27 points and Grant scored 24 points in the loss.

Danny Franoco – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


“I am proud of my guys playing against such a quality team like Turk Telekom Ankara with an excellent coach,” Hapoel coach Danny Franco began. “We came with our tank almost empty, but we showed a lot of character today to stick to the game in tough minutes when we were down. Those amazing fans gave us a lot of adrenalin to keep on going. We kept believing. Great job for us against an excellent team.”

Erdem Can – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


“That was a good game,” Turk coach Erdem Can said despite coming up on the short end of teh stick. “At the end of the game, we couldn’t make quality decisions, but I want to congratulate Hapoel. There was a great atmosphere. And I want to congratulate my players. Till the end, we fought. We could have been a little smarter, but there is a long way to go.”

Xavier Munford – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


The game’s MVP Xavier Munford reflected on his team’s dramatic victory, “It’s an amazing win. We’ve got guys out, so the whole team, we had to pick up for the guys who are out. We have a deep team. It’s an amazing feeling. It was a must-win for us. When you’re in the rhythm, the rim just looks wide. We ran the [last] play exactly like Coach drew it up and thanks to the basketball gods, it went in.”

Chinanu Onuaku – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Tomer Ginat scored a pair of baskets in the paint, big man Chinanu Onuaku was called for three early first quarter fouls but Jaylen Hoard put in a trio of baskets and Xavier Munford added a 4-point play for the Reds to keep them in front 20-15 after ten minutes of play.

Jaylen Hoard – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Munford began the second quarter with another 4-point play, Beni drilled in a corner 3-ball, Axel Bouteille scored from the outside and inside to send Turk on a 8-0 run and cut the lead to 32-25 midway thigh the period. Adam Ariel stepped up with a triple, Munford put in a tough layup, Jerian Grant responded with 8 straight points, J’Covan Brown found Hoard but Tony Taylor dialled up long distance to close the gap to just a pair of points, 39-37 at halftime.

Axel Bouteille and Jerian Grant – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Onuaku scored a pair of baskets and Brown put in a 3-point play to open up the third quarter, Grant dunked and Taylor dropped a triple to lead Türk on a 10-2 run to get to within 48-47 with 5:42 left in the period. Munford went from the inside and outside, Onuaku scored a 3-point play, Munford dialled up long distance but so did Bouteille, Hoard with a put back and Ariel with a deuce bumped the lead back up to 65-57 after thirty minutes of action.

Xavier Munford – Photo Credit: Yehuda Halickman


Grant led off the fourth quarter with a pair of triples Bouteille put in a 3-point play and a pair of 3-pointers to give Türk a 74-67 advantage midway through the final frame. Grant went from deep, Hoard and Munford put in points, Sestina came back with a 3-pointer, but Munford came back to hit a pair from deep and then the game winner out of a timeout to take the dramatic victory.

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