


Joventut Badalona reached the 7DAYS EuroCup Semifinals after a strong finish saw the Spanish club grind out a hard-fought 82-74 home win over Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv in a rip-roaring contest played in an electrifying atmosphere on Wednesday.
Centers Ante Tomic and forward Vladimir Brodziansky paced Joventut with 16 points each and Joel Parra added 13 for the home team, which set a new EuroCup record of 26 free throws made without missing any, breaking the previous mark of 22-for-22 shared by Buducnost Podgorica, FMP Zeleznik, UNICS Kazan and Alba Fehervar. At the other end, J’Covan Brown sank a game-high 21 points, Jordan McRae posted 17 while Xavier Munford and Tomer Ginat netted 12 apiece for Hapoel.
Roared on by the fervent home fans, Joventut made a blistering start and won the first quarter 22-7 on the back of ironclad defense garnished with some incisive offense, as Hapoel looked toothless at both ends of the court. Whereas Joventut dished out 7 assists in the opening 10 minutes, Hapoel managed none as the visitors were forced into isolation on offense, resulting in a barrage of tough long-range shots.
The trend continued in the opening 5 minutes of the second quarter, with Joventut carving out a 31-10 lead on the back of a 20-3 streak which had Hapoel reeling and seemingly out for the count. However, the visiting team then bounced back off the ropes and a 7-0 run saw Hapoel slash the deficit to 40-29 at halftime, which was a sign of things to come after the break.
Hapoel scored 8 unanswered points at the start of the third quarter, cutting the gap to 40-37 before the home team finally got out of their slump, with Brodziansky being instrumental in keeping Joventut in the driving seat. The Slovakian scored 11 points in the third period, including a hook shot and a three-pointer, as Joventut headed into the final 10 minutes with a 60-51 advantage.
The stubborn visitors refused to roll over and, led by Brown, who netted 13 points in the fourth quarter, Hapoel turned the game on its head after Brown nailed a pair of three-pointers in quick succession to give the Israeli side its first lead of the night, 69-70. With the game hanging in the balance and a sizeable contingent of away fans in raptures, Joventut forced the final twist when Andres Feliz ripped through Hapoel’s defense with a lovely lay-up to give the hosts a 75-72 lead. Hapoel could not recover as its offense was ground to a halt in the last 2 minutes as Joventut sealed its win thanks to ice-cool free throw shooting from Parra, who also put the icing on the cake with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner.