The end of the magic journey: Hapoel surrendered in the final

Hapoel "Bank Yahav" Jerusalem's tremendous European season reached the finish line tonight (Sunday) in heartbreak: thousands of reds in the arena in Malaga gave it a home atmosphere and pushed it from the warm-up to the buzzer, but Telecom Bonn, the Cinderella of European basketball this season, was better and won for the first time in its history in the Champions League after a 70:77 victory.

The cup holder did not get into the game well, scoring only 7 points in the first 10 minutes and finding herself trailing by 16 in the middle of the second quarter. Levi Randolph almost single-handedly brought it back to life with 27 points in an excellent game, Aleksandar D?iki?'s team repeatedly came within striking distance, but each time saw the back of TJ Shorts, the season's MVP, who prevented a turnaround with 29 points. Markes Meijris contributed 12 points and 6 rebounds and finished with the highest plus-minus in the team (5+), but the Reds left too many points on the line (16 of 26, 62%) and did not get the same contribution from the bench as in yesterday's semifinals.

Nevertheless, Jerusalem can look back with pride on the second-best European campaign in its history, in which it broke stigmas, won almost every close game it played (0:5 in games decided on the tip of a basket), and came within touching distance of the well. The good news for the cup holder tonight was the result of the derby, which elevated her to second place at the end of the regular season in the Winner Basket League. On Thursday, the team will start the quarter final series against Bnei "Ofek Dist" Herzliya.

Jerusalem started with a five of Speedy Smith, Or Cornelius, Levi Randolph, Markes Meijris, and Zach Hankins, while Bonn started with T.J. Shorts, Tyson Ward, Colin Malcolm, Finn Delaney, and Leon Kratzer. The opening was nervous; Meiris scored the first basket after two minutes; Shorts got into things with a basket and an assist to Ward; the Germans forced many turnovers; and Kadin Carrington's free throw made it 4:3 in the middle of the first quarter. A basket by Malcolm was answered by a big dunk by Hankins, but Javonte Hawkins scored from the outside, Sebastian Herrera and Carrington exchanged baskets, and a 3-pointer by Shorts closed the quarter with a 7:14 advantage.

Malcolm started the second quarter with a dunk, and Cornelius hit the cup holder's first 3-pointer, but Short's basket and foul and Ward's dunk made it a double score and sent Aleksandar Dzikic to a timeout at 10:20. Shorts continued the celebration with two more baskets; Dean Williams and Smith got on the board, and Hawkins' 3-point move opened a record 14:30 margin. Randolph woke up with a private run of 0:7, and Oz Blazer sniped from the corner, but Herrera immediately answered him, and Delaney, with another three, increased it back to 24:37. Randolph scored from the free throw line, Meijris made an easy basket in the paint, and good defense on Shorts brought his team down to the break with a single-digit deficit, 37:28.

Randolph remained hot even after returning from the locker room, and together with Hankins' help and excellent teamwork in defense, he brought Jerusalem within a basket, 39:37. A tremendous dunk by Williams stopped a 2:13 run. Randolph continued to hold the trophy holder in the picture, but Herrera made sure to increase it to 39:46. Meijris narrowed the gap to just one point with excellent actions, but Hawkins responded with an important basket, and Herre buried another three, 45:51. Randolph had already reached 20 points; Hawkins dunked three times from the line; and Shorts sniped from the outside, but Smith raised the level and, together with Carrington, narrowed it again, 57:55, before the last quarter of the season.

Shorts doubled the gap with another successful penetration, and in the next attack, he added a three-pointer from the corner; Carrington scored 1 of 2 from the line; Meijris blocked Shorts; and Blayzer's basket from an offensive rebound reduced the score to 62:58. Shorts doubled the gap with an amazing basket above Blayzer and a smart assist to Malcolm. Meijris reached double digits with a three-pointer with the help of the board, but Ward increased from the line, 61:68. Randolph penetrated well for a 3-point move, Malcolm responded with a Rivers layup, and Shorts made it 64:71 with his 25th point. Ward increased to 9 with a pair of free throws; Carrington and Randolph collected points from the line; but Shorts continued the march to the line and made it 68:75 with 1:09 to go. Randolph kept the game open by shooting from the free throw line area; Bonn again took precious seconds off the clock; Hawkins missed with the buzzer for the shot clock, but the rebound remained German; and the excellent Shorts again calmly scored from the line, 70:77, with 23 seconds to go. Randolph's two fouls from the line gave the signal for the celebrations of Bonn, the champion of the Champions League for 2023, after a 70:77 victory.

Hapoel "Bank Yahav" Jerusalem: Randolph 27 (7-15 from the field, 11-15 from the line, 6 rebounds), Meijris 12 (3-4 for two, 2-3 for three, 6 rebounds), Carrington 9 (1-4 for two, 1-5 for three, 4-6 from the line), Hankins (3-6 from the field, 10 rebounds), Smith (2-3 for two, 1-6 for three, 5 assists) 7 each, Blayzer 5, Cornelius 3. Also practiced: Brown, Vene, and Segev.

Telecom Baskets Bonn: Shorts 29 (7-14 for two, 3-3 for three, 6-8 from the line), Hawkins 13 (2-4 for two, 1-4 for three, 6-6 from the line), Herrera 11 (3-10 for three), Ward (2-3 for twos, 0-3 for threes, 4-4 from the line), and Malcolm (4-8 from the field, 6 rebounds) 8 each, Williams 4 (0-3 for threes), Delaney 3 (1-4 from the field), Xens 1. Practiced: Kratzer (6 rebounds).