Hapoel Tel Aviv beats Real Madrid 102-98, survives Spanish comeback

Hapoel Tel Aviv under Dimitris Itoudis beat Real Madrid 102-98 on Thursday in the Sofia hall after leading by 20 points in the first half and seeing the Spaniards erase the gap in the third quarter, and Hapoel achieved its second consecutive Euroleague victory raising the record to 1-2, while Real Madrid suffered their third consecutive loss and is at 3-0.

Hapoel Tel Aviv hosted Real Madrid in the Sofia hall and beat them 102-98, a sports payback for the playoff quarterfinal elimination from last season. The Reds achieved their second consecutive Euroleague victory and improved to 1-2, while Real Madrid suffered their third consecutive loss and is at 3-0.

Hapoel went into halftime with a 63-43 lead, shooting 9 of 14 from three-point range and recording 12 assists against only 3 turnovers. Bruno Caboclo, who entered the starting five in place of Dan Otero, made 5 of 5 from three but finished the game with 5 fouls in 13 minutes.

In the third quarter, Real Madrid scored 11 points to Hapoel's 32 and erased the deficit within eight minutes led by Theo Maldon, Timothy Liau-Cabarrot and Addy Tavares, with the quarter ending tied 75-75. In the final quarter, Vasilije Micic and Elijah Bryant took control, and Bryant and Antonio Blakeney sealed the victory from the foul line.

Bryant finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists with a 40 rating. Micic added 22 points, and Caboclo and Zach Leaddy scored 15 each. For Real Madrid, Maldon stood out with 26 points, and Liau-Cabarrot added 21.