

Joventut Badalona edged Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv 82-74 to reach the 7DAYS EuroCup Semifinals as the Spanish side excelled in several departments, most of all in free throws as the hosts set the competition record with 26 shots made without a miss.
Hapoel was also decent from the foul line as the visitors sank 18 of 21 free throws, but they were undone by a more resourceful Joventut team which dished out 21 assists and racked up 40 rebounds. Hapoel only managed 13 assists and had 35 boards, with the Israeli side’s slow start costing the visitors dearly as they fell behind 31-10 midway through the second quarter.
Hapoel head coach Danny Franco acknowledged after a gut-wrenching defeat it was scant consolation that his team actually won three of the four quarters. "We are of course very disappointed. We made a poor start and it cost us. We won three of the four quarters but the first one was a bad one for us and it came back to haunt us," Franco said afterward.
Franco’s counterpart Carles Duran was elated after seeing his team reach the last four. "We made a great start to the game and had a great last 2 minutes, but Hapoel pushed us all the way," he said. "We played with a lot of heart and character, so now we can dream of reaching the final. Five years ago Joventut was in a bad position for several reasons and now we’re in the EuroCup Semifinals."