Buducnost claims key victory in Jerusalem

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica held on for a tough 81-86 road win over Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem on Tuesday night at Pais Arena Jerusalem in the Israeli capital to keep a share of first place in Group B with a 2-0 record. The result dropped Jerusalem, a 7DAYS EuroCup semifinalist last season, to 0-2. Buducnost did not trail at all in the second half and fueled by Filip Barovic and Kyle Gibson led by as many as 16, but the hosts rallied to tie it in the closing minutes. This time Nikola Ivanovic rose to the occasion and Jerusalem was unable to connect on a pair of attempts from behind the arc to tie the game in the final seconds. Ivanovic paced the Montenegrin champs with 19 points, Barovic finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds, Nemanja Gordic recorded 13 points and 6 assists, Gibson netted 12 and Kyle Landry 10. Jerome Dyson paced Jerusalem with 21 points and 7 assists, Alen Omic added 14 points, Austin Daye 13 and Lior Eliyahu and Curtis Jerrells scored 10 each. Jerusalem as plagued by poor three-point shooting and made only 1 of 12 in the first three quarters.

Points were hard to come by early and the visitors led 4-5 after nearly five minutes. The pace picked up after that and Jerusalem grabbed an 18-16 edge after 10 minutes thanks to Jerrells’s spin move and layup. Gordic scored on back-to-back possessions before Danilo Nikolic buried a triple that gave Buducnost a 26-30 lead midway through the second quarter. Gibson’s jumper in the lane extended the margin to 30-37. Dyson free throws drew the hosts within 36-39 at the break. Barovic took charge with the first 7 points of the second half to create the first double-digit margin of the game. Gibson added a triple before Barovic struck again as the visitors surged in front 38-51. More from the same duo made it 40-56 as Jerusalem took a timeout in a silent arena. Dyson stepped up for the hosts and scored on four consecutive possessions to trim the gap to 8, but Buducnost continued to pour in points and led 55-67 through three quarters. Jerusalem scored the first 6 points of the second half and then got within 66-71 on a Jerrells triple. The home team continued its push with a pair of buckets in the paint from Eliyahu before he fed Omic for a game-tying layup, 75-75, with less than two minutes to go. But Ivanovic countered with a three-pointer and then a pair of free throws to put Buducnost back in control. Jerusalem continued to fight and had a pair of looks in the final seconds to tie it, but Buducnost held on.