Two of the EuroCup’s strongest teams go head-to-head in Belgrade.
Hapoel hosts London in a crucial game in Group A
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With the battle heating up to secure one of the top two spots in Group A, which guarantee direct access to the BKT EuroCup Quarterfinals, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (11-2) welcomes the London Lions (9-4) to Aleksander Nikolic Hall in Belgrade on Tuesday at 18:30 CET.
The story so far
With a victory, Hapoel would have a three-game gap over London, as well as a 2-0 record in the series. Back in Round 5, both teams met in the English capital and Hapoel edged London 90-98. It was not a close game, despite how the final scoreline looks, as Hapoel led 59-77 at the end of the third quarter and only allowed London to get closer once the outcome was clear. Xavier Munford and Tomer Ginat led the winners that night with 24 points apiece, while Matt Morgan had a team-high 22 points for London.
London's first-ever EuroCup game was a 76-59 road loss against Hapoel, but an injury suffered by star player Sam Dekker early on prevented what should have been a thrilling contest. That game saw J'Covan Brown pace Hapoel with 19 points and 6 assists.
Hapoel is undefeated against London, as it also registered a 93-95 come-from-behind victory at OVO Arena, the Lions’ temporary home for the night. Over 1,500 traveling fans helped Hapoel win that game, as they gathered in London hours before the game and then all went to the arena together, leading to an unbelievable atmosphere.
Now, London has a chance to get its first-ever victory against Hapoel and improve its chances of finishing first or second in the standings.
London: Better and stronger
On Sunday, London signed shooting guard David Nwaba for the remainder of the season. He had a solid NBA career, averaging 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 237 games with several teams. One of those sides was the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he joined forces with London star forward Dekker for a while in the 2018-19 season.
Speaking of Dekker, he did not play against Hapoel in Round 5 this year and is expected to be out in Round 14 after suffering an ankle injury against Paris Basketball. After having a career-best night against in his only full game against Hapoel in the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 29 points and recording a 32 PIR, his absence is a big blow as Petar Bozic’s squad looks to finally get a win on the board against Danny Franco’s charges.
London already has more wins than it achieved last year with five games left in the regular season. In the 2022-23 campaign, London had an 8-10 regular-season record before losing against Joventut Badalona in the eighthfinals.
Center Gabe Olaseni has arguably been one of the main reasons behind London’s improvement. He currently ranks second in PIR average (22.6), fourth in scoring (17.7 ppg.) and sixth in rebounds (8.1 rpg.), having played and started in all 13 of the Lions’ games this term.
Olaseni’s matchup against Kyle Alexander is likely be one of the biggest keys to this game. Alexander has boosted his numbers to 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and a PIR of 26.0 in the last two games, and he had a higher PIR (21-16) and more rebounds (13-7) than Olaseni their last matchup in Round 5.
Hapoel: At a record-breaking pace
Simply put, Hapoel may arguably be playing some of the best basketball ever seen in the EuroCup – and it has the numbers to back up this statement.
Hapoel is dishing 23.6 assists per night, which would be an all-time record. The highest assists average in a EuroCup season belongs to Virtus Segafredo Bologna at 23.4 per night in the 2020-21 season.
Hapoel ranks second in scoring (96.7 ppg.), only behind Paris (99.1 ppg.). Both of them are on track for the all-time record, held by Avtodor Saratov (92.4 ppg.) since the end of the 2015-16 season.
Hapoel could also shatter the PIR average record, which has belonged to Joventut Badalona since the 2007-08 season. Joventut won the 2007-08 EuroCup, losing just one game and averaging a PIR of 108.5. Right now, Hapoel leads the standings with a PIR of 118.0.
London is also ahead of the all-time record with a PIR average of 109.9. In that sense, we are about to see an unprecedented showdown between two of the best teams ever in the competition, statistically speaking. It is also a crucial one, so tune in at 18:30 CET on Tuesday for a big showdown at the historic Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.