Hapoel Tel Aviv staring down 0-2 Euroleague quarterfinal hole vs Real Madrid
IT IS going to require quite a turnaround for Elijah Bryant and Hapoel Tel Aviv to overcome their 2-0 deficit to Real Madrid in their Euroleague quarterfinal series. (photo credit: Hapoel Tel Aviv/Courtesy) Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad came out with a ton of energy early, thanks to impressive play on the inside by Dan Oturu, as Hapoel grabbed a 42-40 advantage at halftime. Real Madrid slammed Hapoel Tel Aviv 102-75 as Facundo Campazzo and Usman Garuba ran the Reds ragged in the second half to take a stranglehold 2-0 lead in their Euroleague quarterfinal series.
Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad came out with a ton of energy early, thanks to impressive play on the inside by Dan Oturu, as Hapoel grabbed a 42-40 advantage at halftime. However, the second half was all one-way traffic as Campazzo, Garuba, along with Mario Hezonja and Theo Maledon started to score at will and locked down on defense to close out the 27-point win. Next up for the two clubs will be Game 3 on Tuesday and, if necessary, Game 4 on Thursday in Bulgaria as Tel Aviv will have its back against the wall and will need to sweep the pair of “home” games and then return to Madrid for a decisive Game 5 the following week.
Oturu scored 19 points, Elijah Bryant added 11 points, and Chris Jones scored 10 points in the loss, while Campazzo scored 23 points as Garuba and Maledon each scored 13 points in the win. Alberto Abalde #6 of Real Madrid and David DeJulius #5 of UCAM Murcia in action during Round 29 of Liga Endesa ACB match between Real Madrid and UCAM Murcia at Movistar Arena on May 03, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (credit: Borja B.
Hojas/Getty Images) Itoudis summed up his team’s performance. “We saw two different teams. In the first half, we were competitive, we followed the game plan, and knew how to cope even when they were leading.
Unfortunately, we lost our composure, there was pressure on the playmakers, we collapsed in the third quarter, and Real Madrid’s second unit scored 16 points. They deserved to win. We’ve shown on many occasions that we can compete.