The Israeli side is also on the cusp of a direct quarterfinal berth after an impressive display in Spain.
Hapoel overpowers Joventut, 85-91, to clinch top-four finish
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv secured at least a top-four finish in Group A of the BTK EuroCup with a game to spare and hence home-court advantage in the playoffs after a vital 85-91 win at Joventut Badalona.
Hapoel will also be assured of the group’s runners-up spot, which would give the team a bye in the first knockout round of the competition and send it through to the quarterfinals, if the London Lions lose at Cedevita Olimpija on Wednesday.
If the Lions beat the group’s bottom team, they will be level with Hapoel on a 12-5 record and the tussle for second place will go down to the wire, with Hapoel facing Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul in Round 18 while the Lions are at home to Wolves Vilnius.
Game Videos
In Badalona, Will Cummings led a balanced Hapoel effort with 19 points, followed by Xavier Munford who netted 16. Desmine Wells and J’Covan Brown chipped in with 12 each and Jaylen Hoard added 11 for the visitors, who never looked back after they overturned an early 6-2 Joventut lead.
At the other end, Andres Feliz paced Joventut with 19 points, Shannon Evans scored 10, while Michael Ruzic and Tyler Calvin-Cook amassed 11 apiece for the hosts, who committed 21 turnovers against an aggressive Hapoel defense.
Powered by Cummings and thriving from quick movement of the ball on the offensive end, Hapoel fired on all cylinders in the first half as it carved out a 25-45 lead midway through the second quarter on the back of a 15-1 streak. The visitors shot 16-of-24 from two-point range and 5-of-8 from downtown in the opening two periods, having also come up with 6 steals while Joventut committed 12 turnovers.
The home team slashed its deficit to 42-57 at halftime but Hapoel again found another gear after the beak, pulling away to 58-80 early in the fourth quarter as Hoard and Brown took over from Cummings and Munford.
Joventut launched a comeback in the home stretch but Hapoel ultimately held on comfortably to complete the regular-season double over the Spanish side, having beaten them 103-99 at home in the reverse fixture.