Hapoel Jerusalem loses another nail biter in the FIBA Basketball Champions League

In a back-and-forth contest that featured 13 lead changes and a biggest lead of only eight points, Baxi Manresa held off Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 73-68.

In the end, it came down to key missed free throws for Jerusalem, just like in their first loss to Pinar Karsiyaka.

Turning point: A three-pointer by Jalen Adams gave Jerusalem a 67-66 lead with 55 seconds left, but after a Manresa timeout, Elias Valtonen responded with a three of his own to provide Manresa with a 69-67 lead with 45 seconds left.

Adams then drew a foul with 26 seconds left, but he missed two clutch free throws that would have tied the game.

Down 71-68, Jerusalem had one last chance to get a shot to send the game to overtime, but they weren’t able to inbound the ball on two tries, ultimately turning it over.

Game heroes: Manresa’s Sylvain Francisco (23 points, two rebounds, four assists, 8-of-15 FG, 3-of-7 3P) and Jerusalem’s Adams (24 points, five rebounds, two assists, 10-of-22 FG, 4-of-7 3P) had a scoring duel, with both players doing most of their damage in the later stages of the game.

Francisco scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Adams scored 17 points in the second half.