Despite the tremendous support of about 4,000 fans in the hall in Malaga and the sacrifice play of the players, Hapoel Jerusalem failed to win the second European title in its history when it lost tonight (Sunday) 77:70 to Bonn of Germany in the final of the FIBA Champions League.
The Reds can be proud of a wonderful European season which culminated in a dramatic semi-final victory over Tenerife on Friday, and will now return to the Premier League play-off series and attempt to complete a historic double, having already lifted the national cup.
Jerusalem’s coach, Alexander Dzikic, will not return tomorrow with the team to Israel. He will take off directly from Malaga to Serbia, to pay his last respects to his mother Milka, who died in the middle of last week, and attend her funeral. The outgoing owner of the club, Eyal Chomsky, will accompany him.
At the end of the game, there was a beautiful gesture, when the fans of Jerusalem and Bonn encouraged each other and called the opponent’s name. The legendary Luis Scola, ambassador of the factory, said at the end: “There was a great atmosphere, the fans cheered each other on, the atmosphere was very healthy, it was a lot of fun. We play for games like this. I am no longer on the field, and now all I have left is to watch them and enjoy “.
Zach Hankins cried after the loss: “The feeling is very hard. They are very talented, they know how to score, they have an amazing point guard, a great defense, we couldn’t stop him (Shorts). I am very proud. Our coach went through a tragedy… We have an amazing group, We didn’t expect to get so close to the cup, we met the challenge, but I’m very proud of the players here, my friends.”
TJ Shorts, Bonn star: “I don’t know what I feel anymore, but this is what we worked for from the first moment of the season. I am grateful to the whole club, to everyone who believed in me. I always believed. At the beginning of the season the coach set the standards, He knew exactly what he wanted, and it paid off, we won the cup. I love these situations, every player dreams of these moments, every kid fantasizes about it, and now I’m an adult and I’m here. Tonight we’ll celebrate. I know my family is watching me, my mom is in the stands , the crowd that traveled especially from Germany, the atmosphere here is amazing, it’s a moment I will remember all my life.”
Cadin Carrington summed up the European season: “It definitely hurt. I think we could have adjusted ourselves better to the game. I am very proud of every player here on the team, everyone gave everything. I wish things would have worked out differently, but really I can’t say how proud I am of my friends It was very difficult to get here in the first place. We really wanted it to end with a win. The coach and the professional staff were amazing. The fact that Džikić’s mother passed away and he stayed with us is a no-brainer. This is a special team. It was a great season in the PIB Champions League. “A”.
Oz Blazer shared at the end: “It’s not an easy feeling. We wanted it so much for the coach and our home crowd that accompanied us here. We will have to digest it. We did a lot to get here and I hope we will keep our eyes on the future, because we have another big goal. There is something Special in this locker room. We will not let this loss finish us.”
On tonight’s game: “Every time we managed to come back, they made the right move to stop the comeback. It wasn’t our best game, but hopefully we somehow managed to make our crowd proud. We hope to come back here.”
