The guard was one of the seven Hapoel players to score in double figures
Bryant leads the charge, Hapoel flexes offensive prowess against Baskonia
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 10 of 38
Regular Season
Hapoel IBI Tel AvivHTA
11489
Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizBKN
Overview
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In its first-ever EuroLeague season, Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv has taken the league by storm thanks to its dominant offense. Numbers confirm it, but the eye test is even more convincing.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis’s team came into the game against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz averaging a league-high 90.9 points. When the final whistle was blown on Tuesday’s clash, the Israeli side would better that average by 23 points in rolling to a 114-89 victory.
The hosts netted at least 26 points in each of the four quarters, reaching the 100-point mark for the fifth time in 10 games this season. Seven players recorded double digits in scoring, underscoring the depth in Hapoel’s roster this season, with Elijah Bryant being the one who stood out for the second game in a row.
After being the man of the moment last time out against Dubai Basketball by recording a season-high 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Bryant exceled again on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old guard shot 7-for-10 from inside the arc, 1-for-2 from deep and a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. He was 1 board away from a double-double, as he registered 24 points and 9 rebounds. He also bagged 4 assists, pacing his team in all three categories to end the game on a career-high PIR of 39.
More importantly, he stepped up when Baskonia pushed for a comeback in the third quarter. The visitors were trailing 69-55 before mounting a 2-11 surge fueled by Hamidou Diallo, who brought them within 71-66.
Enter Bryant, who kept grinding away on both ends. The Hapoel guard netted 9 of Hapoel’s next 11 points and made some important defensive stops to single-handedly restore a double-digit cushion, 81-68, dealing a major blow to Baskonia’s comeback hopes.
Bryant was assisted by an extraordinary Chris Jones, who went a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals and scored a season-high 15 points – the same tally as his fellow guard, Antonio Blakeney. Vasilije Micic and Vasilije Micic netted 11 points each, with Tyler Ennis and Dan Oturu grabbing 10 apiece.
In fact, all 12 Hapoel players who stepped on the floor got their names on the scoreboard, as the hosts fired on all cylinders. The Israeli side shot 28-for-44 from inside the rainbow and 12-for-21 from deep, missing just 1 of their 23 free-throw attempts.
“Offensively, we were there consistently and we controlled the game,” Itoudis said in the post-game press conference. “We actually took what was given from their defense, because, although they have size, our guards found a way to create the extra player all the time with good spacing.”
Despite coming into this game averaging a league-low 8.9 offensive rebounds, Hapoel ended the game on 12 offensive boards, winning the battle by outrebounding the visitors 33-19.
“We have a long roster and we have many injured players, but today we had seven players in double digits,” Itoudis told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We had 33 to 19 rebounds, we hustled and when we found the way to make some significant stops on their creativity - because the game was open - it was very important.”
Having opened the double-round week with a dominant win, Hapoel will look to lean on its offense in its bid to double its victories by defeating defending champion Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on the road. Should Itoudis’s side pull off a similar offensive outing, there might be no stopping them on Thursday night.
