Fersped Rabotnicki 97 vs. Galil Elyon Golan 109

In Group A action of the FIBA Europe League this evening, Galil Elyon Golan traveled to Skopje to take on Fersped Rabotnicki. The two teams battled before 500 fans in a game that appeared initially to be a blow-out, but in the end proved to be tight.

The home team got off to a sluggish start and allowed their opponents to score uncontested baskets. The Israeli team came out blazing in the first period and by the second minute of play was up 9-0. Thanks to 9-11 shooting from behind the arc in the first quarter, Galil Elyon took a decisive 19-point lead into the second ten minutes.

In the second quarter play continued in much the same fashion, as the Israeli team controlled the tempo of the match and built their lead up to 22 points. Fersped Rabotnicki finally found their game just before halftime and was faced with a surmountable 14-point deficit going into the locker room.

Carrying over their momentum from the last few minutes of play in the first half, the home team came out and nailed two three-pointers to cut the lead to single digits. Aleksandar Dimitrovski came alive in this period and led Fersped Rabotnicki with four three's.

During the first two minutes of the crucial fourth quarter, the visitors from Israel led only by a slim five points at which point anything seemed possible. However with clutch shooting by Christian Dalmau Santana, Brandon Kurtz, and Moshe Mizrahi, Galil Elyon went up by 12 points and Fersped Rabotnicki saw their hopes of a win shattered.

Quotes Fersped Rabotnicki vs. Galil Elyon Golan

Oded Katash, Head Coach of Galil Elyon Golan

"I am very happy because we won, since we were the guests. It is not easy to play in Skopje. It was important for us to win to achieve better position in the forthcoming games. 

We analysed the match played in Israel and we succeeded in organizing a good defense against Johnson and Simic, however, we had some good shots." 

Christian Dalmau, Player of Galil Elyon Golan:
"The game was difficult. We followed the plan and achieved a significant win." 

Jordancho Davitkov, Head Coach of Fersped Rabotnicki:
"It is a fact that the opponent studied our game quite well. They had an excellent first quarter, and afterwards everything became a chase. 

Our team lost many balls and made errors in the key moments - HAPOEL is to experienced a team to not take advantage of such opportunities."