Motum scores 19 as Aussies exit Euroleague run
A lot of us believe in miracles, especially in sports, when nothing is decided until the final buzzer sounds. There is one round left, but we can conclude that the Euroleague is well and truly over, for both our Aussies, Brock Motum and Jonah Bolden.
All basketball fans’ eyes were on the game in Spain on early Friday morning, when Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv tried to make the best of their last chance to jump onto the TOP-8 train. But as things turned out, the Israelian team just fell short.
However, the battle was worth watching. From the players’ efforts, you could say that both teams wanted this win really bad. So it came as no surprise that in the first quarter alone, the lead did not change hands.
Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz hit the turbo and tried to run away in the second. But even as the Spaniards claimed a 10-point lead, Maccabi fought back. It remained an intriguing game, as the score entered 34-38 heading into the break.
Nothing changed after that. The local team tried to get closer to a win few times, but after all those runs Maccabi players found their way back, so the winner was decided in the last 10 minutes.
Unfortunately for us Aussies, that team wasn’t Maccabi. Baskonia made one more run, which happened to become the decisive one. The Spaniards won the fourth quarter by 8 and grabbed the win 83-72.
Jonah Bolden started the game from the bench this time and played just 14 minutes, but was really effective. Even though the forward scored just 3 points with 1-5 FG, he grabbed 8 rebounds, had 1 steal and finished the game with 7 efficient points.
After Baskonia clinched the last spot in the quarterfinal, we end up with the list of Europe's eight strongest teams this season, which includes: CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul, Olympiacos Pireaus, Real Madrid, Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens, Khimki Moscow Region and Zalgiris Kaunas.
What else we know? Maccabi will finish this Euroleague season in 9th place and Anadolu Efes Istanbul with Brock Motum... in the last spot.
And even though that was settled weeks ago, for Aussies it had to be fun to watch the Turkish team battle against Barcelona Lassa. Yes, they had no chance and lost by 24 points 83-107, but Brock was phenomenal.
It is worth mentioning that Motum entered this game in Spain after his best performance this season, when he scored 30 points in the Turkish national league. This time, he finished the game with 19.
And that’s - his second best result this season in Euroleague. The soon-to-be married Motum hit 3 of 5 three pointers, plus 3 rebounds, a assist, a steal and 21 efficient point, leading the scoring column on his team.
In the last round of the regular season, Maccabi will face Valencia Basket, while Anadolu will try to finish with a bang against Baskonia.
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