For the third time this season, Hapoel and Besiktas will square off, this time with a ticket to the semifinals on the line.
Quarterfinals breakdown: Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs. Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul
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The Lithuanian capital of Vilnius will host Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv and Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul for their single-game quarterfinal clash. The two sides win in very opposite ways and styles of basketball, and even though this is only the second EuroCup season for Hapoel, while Besiktas returned to the competition for the first time in eight years, they have a lot of familiarity being at this stage.
Earlier this season
These Group A foes faced each other during the regular season, with Hapoel sweeping the two games. First, in Round 9 in late November, Hapoel hosted Besiktas in Belgrade and pulled out an 81-75 win thanks to a game-ending 7-0 run in the final 79 seconds of the game. J'Covan Brown led Hapoel with 19 points and 7 assists, Jaylen Hoard had 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Derek Needham collected 16 points and 9 assists in the loss.
In their second game, their regular-season finale a month ago, which Besiktas hosted at Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Hapoel celebrated a 73-94 victory as Tomer Ginat and Will Cummings scored 16 apiece. Angel Delgado amassed 15 points plus 12 rebounds for Besiktas, which had nothing to play for, already knowing it would finish sixth in the standings. Hapoel, meanwhile had everything to play for, as the win secured it second place in its group and an automatic quarterfinals berth.
Third game, third different venue
Even though these teams have recent history between them, it is hard to expect another game like their Round 18 clash, but rather a tight battle similar to what took place in Round 9.
What is interesting about this quarterfinal showdown is that it will be played in Vilnius, Lithuania. It means that Hapoel and Besiktas will be playing in a third different "neutral" site this season. The biggest difference from previous matches, however, is that this time it will not be in front of empty stands.
That should suit both sides just fine, as both teams have fiery fan bases and players on both teams are used to, and enjoy, playing in loud environments. Hapoel is the host and will have the chance to get support from its fans, which it did not get much of while in Belgrade due to the ongoing situation in Israel. The club has already filled two charter flights to Vilnius and is selling tickets for a third. This is also an opportunity for Besiktas fans to come out and support their team. It should be electric.
Familiar stage for so many
Besiktas may be in the EuroCup Quarterfinals for the first time in more than 15 years, but its head coach Dusan Alimpijevic and his right-hand man on the floor, starting point guard Derek Needham (11.5 ppg., 3.2 apg.) have a 4-2 record together in single-game eliminations in the EuroCup.
Together for the third consecutive season with two different clubs, the two led Frutti Extra Bursaspor to the 2022 EuroCup Finals, when Needham was named to the All-EuroCup First Team while Alimpijevic was voted Coach of the Year.
What's interesting, all six of those single-elimination games were on the road, and four of the wins came in pretty tough places to play, let alone win: at Partizan Belgrade, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and MoraBanc Andorra in 2021-22 and at Dreamland Gran Canaria this week in the eighthfinals.
Interestingly, on that 2021-22 journey with Alimpijevic and Needham was Hapoel forward John Holland (7.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg.), who had one of the most memorable halftime interviews in EuroCup history during the Bursaspor run. Holland, who also reached the EuroCup Finals with UNICS Kazan in 2021, has connections with the club too, having played for Besiktas in the 2014-15 campaign.
In addition, no player or coach has more experience at this stage than Hapoel's mid-season addition, playmaker Will Cummings (12.8 ppg, 3.6 apg.). A 2018 EuroCup champion with Darussafaka Istanbul, he also played in the EuroCup Quarterfinals in 2021 with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and in 2022 with Boulogne Metropolitans 92. Cummings's career-highs of 31 points and 37 PIR came in a 2022 quarterfinals loss at Valencia Basket.
Holland and Cummings are far from being the only Hapoel representatives with experience in EuroCup elimination games.
Head coach Danny Franco's team is in the EuroCup Quarterfinals for the second consecutive season. A year ago, Hapoel eliminated Umana Reyer Venice before bowing out in the quarters against Joventut Badalona. That experience will certainly be very valuable for Coach Franco and the half-dozen players who were part of the team's journey last season, including Brown, Hoard, Ginat, Bar Timor and Idan Zalmanson.
Offense vs. defense
A glance at the stats shows what each team's strengths are. Hapoel ranks second in scoring (96.1 ppg.) and second in assists (22.4 apg.), and is also second-best in making two-point shots (60.3% 2FG) and three-pointers (39.7% 3FG), all while committing the fourth-fewest turnovers (12.7 tpg.) in the competition.
Hapoel has incredible depth with seven different players averaging double figures. That includes Hoard (16.2 ppg.), mid-season addition Dezmine Wells (13.8 ppg.), Ginat (13.6 ppg.) and Brown (12.2 ppg., 6.5 apg.). Defensively, however, only two teams allow more points than Hapoel (88.9 ppg.), which has also suffered from opponents knocking down three-pointers at 39.1% accuracy, the third highest in the competition this season.
Besiktas, on the other hand, makes the second-fewest triples in all of the EuroCup (7.5 per game) and has scored the third-fewest points (79.0 ppg.). Besiktas has also shot at a league-low 50.0% two-point accuracy and made 21.4 two-pointers, the second-fewest among the eight teams remaining in the playoffs.
But Besiktas can win games despite all those low numbers, like making just 6 threes on 20.7% shooting in the eighthfinals, thanks to its offensive rebounding which is a league-best 13.3 per game, and due to its defense, which has held opponents to 80.3 points, which is fourth-fewest, and limited them to 16.5 assists, also the second-best mark in the competition.
The team has a very strong presence inside with Delgado (11.8 ppg., 9.6 rpg.) and Marko Simonovic (7.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.), has go-to guys in Jonah Mathews (14.9 ppg.), while Matthew Mitchell (11.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg.) does tremendous work on both ends of the floor.