SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Argentina) – Rasid Mahalbasic recovered the ball after a triple attempt by David Cubillán that fell short and scored under the basket with 0.4 tenths of a second remaining on the clock to give Halcones de Xalapa the victory in overtime by 101-99 on Hebraica Macabi, in the match for third place in the Final 4 of the Basketball Champions League Americas, which was played at the Ciudad Stadium in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
The Mexican team, which made its debut in this season of the BCL Americas, left very good feelings by achieving its first podium and becoming the first organization from that country to finish among the top three places.
Halcones had to recover from an 11-point deficit (50-39) in the first half to be able to win. Those led by Spanish coach Paco Olmos returned to the fray in the third quarter with a run of 26-17 to reach the fourth period losing only by 2 (67-65), which left the scene set for an exciting closing. The Xalapa quintet fell down again 91-83, with 1:19 minutes remaining in regulation time but incredibly forced extra time after consecutive triples by Jordan Glynn and David Cubillán, and then a success in the paint by Mahalbasic to tie it at 91 .
Before Cubillán’s triple, Luciano Parodi left the door open for Hebraica by missing two free throws and then Jordan Williams launched an “air ball” on a mid-distance shot.
In overtime, the Uruguayan team once again took the lead by 3 (99-96) with two free throws from Ernesto Oglivie with just under 2 minutes (1:53), but those would be their last points in the match. Daniel Bejarano tied it at 99 for Halcones with a three-pointer from the corner with 47 seconds left and Hebraica Macabi was unable to execute on the other side as she was unable to attempt the basket before 24 seconds of possession.
Halcones was left with the last ball with 22.6 seconds and it was when Cubillán, after running out almost the entire clock, took his shot that fell into the hands of Mahalbasic to score the winning basket.
Bejarano (6 triples) and Glynn led the attack of the Aztec team with 20 points each. Gabriel Girón followed them with 14 points, while Cubillán (6 assists) and Mahalbasic (9 rebounds) added 12 points each. Paul Stoll had 9 counts and 10 assists.
The great virtue of Halcones was their good ball movement (25 assists) and that they managed to impose their greatest depth, with 35 points from their substitute players to only 4 from Hebraica Macabi’s bench. He also controlled the fast break points 20-11.
For the maccabista troop, Williams gave a great display with 32 points (5 triples), 8 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Parodi contributed 28 points. Ernesto Oglivie (18 points and 12 rebounds) and Franklin Hassell (13 and 11) said goodbye with double-doubles.
FIBA
2024-04-15 03:18:37
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