Finnish Champions Honka Playboys continue to struggle in the FIBA Europe League, as they suffered their 5th consecutive loss in the competition, this time at the hands of Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Honka struggled on offense for the whole game, hitting just 14/41 2-pt shots and 4/18 from behind the arc.
The lack of scoring on the part of the home team, allowed Hapoel to take immediate control of the game in the first 2 quarters. Honka's poor offensive display can also be attributed to strong defense from the Israeli club and they did not allow the Finns any easy shots.
Honka's woes were compounded by foul trouble and center Aki Ulander picked up 3 in 3 minutes, forcing him to the bench.
Honka trailed 26:39 at the half, but came out strong after the break with a 9:0 run to get with 4 of Tel Aviv. With the home fans getting behind the team, Tel Aviv suddenly looked in trouble and Honka were back in the game.
Unfortunately for the Playboys and their fans, they could not sustain the comeback. Tel Aviv broke the game open with 19:2 run, ending the game 50:73.
Honka captain Markus Hemdahl was their top player with 11 points.
Tel Aviv new boy A.J. Guyton, playing in his second FIBA Europe League game, was the MVP with 16 points, including 2/3 3-point shooting.
