Levski is now one step closer to the Final 4 after winning against Hapoel

The 2010 EUROHOLD Balkan League champion - BC Levski Sofia moved one step closer to participating in the BIBL Final Four for the third straight time. Titi Papazov′s team achieved an important 79:86 win away from home in Tel Aviv where they played local side Hapoel Tel Aviv.
 
Marcus Hall opened up the score tonight, as he scored for 0:2, before Yonathan Skjoldebrand made the first basket for Hapoel, tying the score at 2:2. The home team had a slight edge in the following moments, and they led by 4 - 9:5, before Levski wen′t on a 5-0 run for 10:9 with 5.35 to go in the first. Neither team could break ahead in the following moments, as the score was tied at 16:16 with 3.21 to go. Levski scored five straight points for 16:21 with 2.28 remaining, and added another 9 until the end against 4 for Hapoel - Levski held a 20:30 lead after the first quarter.
 
Levski extended their lead to 13 points early in the second period, but Curtis Kelly scored four points in a row, decreasing it to 28:37. Marcus Hall made it 28:39, but Hapoel′s answer was eight unanswered points, cutting their deficit down to 3 points - 36:39 with 4.57 left in the half. Hapoel kept their momentum going and got the lead back - 43:41 less than three minutes before halftime, and halfway through the game Hapoel was ahead by a single point - 47:46.
 
Levski quickly got their lead back right after halftime and led by six points - 48:54 with 7.43 remaining in the third quarter. They didn′t let the lead go until the end of the third period, and despite the effort by Hapoel they led by double digits - 57:67 1.07 before the end of the quarter. After 30 minutes the visiting side was ahead by 15 points, as Jarrett Howell made a buzzer-beating three-pointer for 59:74.
 
Hapoel weren′t able to erase any of their deficit and cut it back to single digits after the start of the fourth period. Levski continued to be ahead of their opposition as they led by 14 - 65:79 with 5.31 to go in the game. The home team dropped the difference down to single digits for the first time in the last period with 2.07 to go, when Gal Eytan scored for 73:82. However until the end they weren′t able to do anything more and Levski celebrated a 79:86 win in Hadar Yosef in Tel Aviv.   Aaron Harper was the top performer for Levski with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Marcus Hall added 12 points and 4 assists, while Vassil Evtimov came off the bench with 11 points, 7 boards and 4 assists. Stefan Georgiev added 10 points in 17 minutes on the court.   Curtis Kelly had an amazing game for Hapoel, but couldn′t help and prevent the loss - he scored 28 points, along with 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. Demontez Stitt finished with 19 points, but he also commited 7 turnovers, and Matan Naor added 10 points, 3 steals and 3 assists.   Levski remained on the first spot in Group B with seven straight wins - 7-0, while Hapoel is right behind them with 5 wins and 2 losses - both losses came from Levski. Levski needs just one win from the remaining three games in the regular season in order to secure their first spot and a place in the EUROHOLD Balkan League Final Four for the third straight season.   Next week the Bulgarian team is hosting KK Ulcinj in Sofia, while Hapoel are playing against KK Feni Industries once again at home.