Despite the return of its executives, Ware, Brembly and Holston, the JDA bowed at home against Hapoel Jerusalem, giving up all hope of qualifying for the final four.
The start of the match is particularly closed, especially on the offensive level. Indeed, the two teams have accumulated 26 points scored in this first quarter (14-12). Dijonnais and Israelis are therefore struggling to find their rhythm in these first minutes with a lot of lost balls and overall inaccuracy in shooting. Long led in this first act, the JDA was able to count on the excellent Markus McDuffie who finally seems to be in tune with his marksmanship again. The American winger chained the big mid-distance shots and allowed his team to gradually enter this meeting.
Indeed, the Jeanne players are gaining momentum in this second quarter by managing to find more fluidity in attack. The Dijonnais always rely on the grinta of their All Star McDuffie to find the way to the hoop. Added to this, the Burgundians further exploit the balls lost by their opponent by converting them into a fast attack.
Illustration 5 minutes from the break, where Rousselle recovers a ball and passes it to McDuffie who sends the explosive Ducoté to the Alley-oop. The momentum is therefore in favor of the locals who dig a first small gap (27-20). However, the visitors relied on the external address of the Smith / Brown duo to pick up 3 pts at halftime (33-30).
On returning from the locker room, the visitors raised their tone in attack by managing to circulate the ball more to find the open shooters. Smith and Mejeris therefore shine behind the arc.
The Israelis can also count on the aggressiveness of the Carrington/Randolph duo to get points on penetrations into the paint. Coach Markovic’s men reacted by trying to respond to the opposing dynamic by relying on the inevitable McDuffie and the outside address of Gregor Hrovat. Finally, 2 points separate the two teams at the start of the last quarter (52-54).
However, it is the visitors who shine in these last moments. Carrington continues his show by managing to find the crosshairs behind the arc several times. The heat stroke of the American back allows the players of Hapoel to pass the bar of 10pts 8min from the end (54-65).
The Dijonnais did not give up however and tried to come back in the wake of Mobley who found his way to the circle thanks to his aggressiveness. Nevertheless, too many Burgundian inaccuracies on the offensive level (lost balls and forced shots) will cut off any hope of victory for the locals. With this defeat, the Dijonnais are definitively eliminated from the race for the Final Four.
M.L.
Technical sheet: JDA Dijon lost 64 to 73 against Hapoel Jerusalem (14-12, 19-18, 19-24, 12-19)
JDA Dijon : McDuffie (24) / Horvath (13) / Ware (8) / Alingue (4) / Mobley (11) / Ducoté (2) / Brembly (2)
Hapoel Jerusalem : Hankins (13) / Randolph (8) / Carrington (17) / Smith (12) / Brown (6) / Cornelius (4) / Mejeris (7) / Segev (2) / Blayzer (4)
Passes :
– JDA Dijon : Hrovat (5) / Mobley (5) / McDuffie (3)
– Hapoel Jerusalem : Brown (5) / Mejeris (4) / Randolph (4)
Bounces:
– JDA Dijon : McDuffie (6) / Ware (6) / Mobley (5)
– Hapoel Jerusalem: Hankins (10) / Blayzer (4) / Randolph (4)
