Hapoel Holon has reached the moment of truth: it will meet tomorrow (Wednesday, 19:30) the French Shula to play for the entire box office in the last round of the home stage of the FIBA Champions League – with her fate in hand.
This is how Holon will rise
– Holon’s victory over Shula will lift it from first place, regardless of the result in the parallel game between Minsk and Minsk.
– A loss by Holon by up to 10 points, along with a victory by AK will lift it from second place.
This is how Holon will be ousted
– Holon’s loss by more than 10 points, along with AK’s victory in Minsk, will drive it away.
– The most complicated scenario is a loss for Holon alongside a victory for Minsk. This will create a situation where all the teams will finish the house with the same balance (3: 3) which means that the overall basket difference will be determined. This scenario does not benefit the Israeli team, since since its baskets are currently (6+) inferior to AK (17+) and Shula (+8). In other words, in a situation of complete equality, Holon will probably be relegated.
Holon landed in France yesterday, reaching its destination at the end of a long journey that began with a flight to Paris and continued with a journey of about five hours to Shula. Chris Johnson and Maxim de Zhao, who suffered minor injuries after the game with Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Balkan league, trained as usual and will be at the disposal of Stefanos Dadas.
“This is another very special game for us,” he said Dadas. “We are 40 minutes away from the historic goal we set for ourselves and come with full confidence in ourselves. We know it will be a tough game but we will do our best to make our fans proud once again.”
Guy Pnini, Who wants to record his first European achievement with Holon, added: “We reached the last game in a situation where everything depends on us, we will do and give everything so as not to miss the opportunity to rise. It is very important that we play smart and aggressive and express our qualities.”
The trip, by the way, was joined by Richard Howell and Yogev Ohayon, who are in advanced stages of rehabilitation from the long-term injuries they are suffering from. The chin is back in training and may return to play with the league renewal next week, while the center has returned to partial training and is expected to be fit in about two weeks.
