Perkovic Leads EWE Baskets Into Top 16

EWE Baskets Oldenburg made sure their debut adventure in Europe will continue by beating Hapoel Jerusalem 79-70 on Tuesday in Germany.

Predrag Krunic's team improved to 4-2, good enough for first place in Group E of the EuroChallenge and a spot in the Top 16, while the Israeli outfit was relegated to third and was knocked out of the competition.

Had Olympia managed to claim a road win at EclipseJet MyGuide Amsterdam, Hapoel would have finished in second and advanced but the Greek team lost 68-64 to leave the Dutch outfit in second place and the Greeks third.

Croatian center Jasmin Perkovic had a season-high 21 points for the winners.

In a contest that was close from the start until late in the fourth quarter, EWE Baskets took the lead for good with 1:25 to go in the third on Jason Gardener's three-pointer which made it 51-48.

An important sequence came in the fourth period after Roger Powell's two free throws had pulled Hapoel to within 56-54 with 8:11 to go in the game.

Perkovic replied with shot from the arc to open up a lead of five.

Travis Watson answered for Hapoel to make it 59-56 in favour of the home side, but Perkovic went to the other end and hit a jump shot to restore the five-point advantage with 6:28 to go.

The basket started a 10-0 run that put the home side in front for good.

Watson had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the standout performance for Hapoel.

He was one of four players for the visiting team to reach double figures in scoring.

EWE Baskets won the game, despite being out-rebounded 37-24.

Hapoel finished with 21 turnovers to 15 for the German team.

Coaches Quotes

Coach Guy Goodes (Hapoel Jerusalem):

"This was an important game for us, no question. So I'm very disapointed that we lost and failed to qualify for the next round. We had a hard game Sunday night and spent Monday on the road, so my players were tired. But we can't use that as an excuse. Oldenburg played a good game, especially on the defensive end. My team committed 21 turnovers. That is far too much. Plus, we only had ten assists and that is not nearly enough."

Roger Powell (Hapoel Jerusalem):

"I'm disapointed that we lost.  There's nothing I hate more than losing. We, the players, were tired but like coach said, we can't use that as an excuse.  Oldenburg played a great game, they did a good job stopping us.  We need to regain focus now and concentrate on our own league."

Coach Predrag Krunic (Baskets Oldenburg):

"This was a difficult game for us, especially with only two days of preperation after the Alba game. In the first half, we didn't play with enough passion and that showed. We did that much better in the second half. Overall, I'm happy with the way my team played tonight. I certainly didn't expect to finish first in this tough group, but I'm extremly pleased to do so."

Miladin Pekovic (Baskets Oldenburg):

"In the first half, we didn't do what coach Krunic asked us to do which is keeping Jerusalem from the offensive board. In the second half, we did a much better job executing our game-plan. We were then able to pull away in the fourth quarter. It was nice to see so many people in the gym. I think folks here in Oldenburg are starting to appreciate what we do as a team."