Hapoel Holon is the new champion of Delasport Balkan League

Hapoel Holon is the champion of Delasport Balkan League. The hosts of the Final Four managed to overcome BC Akademik Plovdiv in the final and won 91-75. The Bulgarian side played really well and was the better team on the court until late in the third quarter. Then a key run by the hosts cut their deficit, in the fourth they took the lead and never gave it up. Both teams deserve appreciation for the way they performed, for the fight they put up on the court and what they showed was much appreciated also by the fans in Toto Arena. At the end the hosts managed to bring joy to their spectatora for the support they received and lifted the trophy.

It's worth noting that the captain of Akademik - Vasil Bachev, left the game late in the second quarter after being hit in the head and didn't return after. That certainly had an effect on the team's performance especially in the final minutes when the deeper rotation and the bigger experience of Hapoel, were the decisive factors for the win.

It was a good start to the game as both teams exchanged baskets and leads. Akademik was doing a really good job on offense but not so much in defense as Hapoel scored five triples in the first ten minutes. After a 6-0 run the home side went up by 5 points but the Plovdiv team answered with 7-0 before Hapoel tied. A triple by Gugino put the visitors up by 3 at the end of the first quarter and early in the second the lead went up to 7. Akademik continued to have the lead as the hosts were trying to tie the score and they did it with 4 minutes to play in the half. Then the teams exchanged baskets but as Hapoel didn't score in the final 3:25 of the quarter, Akademik answered with two triples to be up by 6 points after 20 minutes.

The hosts opened the third quarter by scoring the first 5 points but Akademik responded. The visitors not only kept the lead but increased it to double-digits and went up by 10 points. Then they managed to keep in closer to that margin but an 8-0 run by Hapoel tied the score before Gugino stopped it with a basket go give the Bulgarian team a 2-point advantage heading in to the fourth quarter. It started with 8 points in a row for the home team which gave them the lead. In those minutes Akademik's offense wasn't going well so Tomic was the one to take the responsibility and keep his side close. With the difference being 5 points both sides had few bad offensive possession in a row so the margin didn't change. That however was until 3 minutes to play when De Zeeuw hit a very important triple and when McGee scored two free throws to make it a 10-point game with 1.49 to go. Although Titkov scored in the next offense, Hapoel answered right back and when Pnini added another tirple with a minute to play, the winner was decided.

Tyrus McGee was the top scorer for the winners with 20 points while also adding 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Isaiah Miles also did well and had 18 points and 8 rebounds while Guy Pnini and Nathan Sestina scored 14 points each.

The visitors were led by Obrad Tomic who finished the game with 18 points. Jere Vucica also did well with 16 points while Jahii Carson had a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists.

BOXSCORE