MALAGA (Spain) - In one of the most exhausting defensive games over the seven years of the Basketball Champions League, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem defeated the reigning champions Lenovo Tenerife 69-68 to book a spot in Sunday's Final.

This was the first time that Tenerife lost a BCL Semi-Final, having won in all three of their previous games at this stage. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem became the first Israeli team to reach the title game of the competition. 

Turning point: Khadeen Carrington went crazy to start the third quarter with eight straight points and once Brandon Brown joined him, Hapoel's lead ballooned to 15 points. However, Marcelinho Huertas fuelled a Tenerife comeback, even giving them a four-point lead in the final minute.

That's when Siim-Sander Vene hit a three-plus-one shot to tie the scores, and when Giorgi Shermadini split a pair of shots from the free-throw line, the door opened for Carrington to go all-in, drive to the rim and hit what proved to be the game-winning layup with 20 seconds to go, even with Leandro Bolmaro draped over him.

Tenerife had one last chance to reach the Final, Huertas drove to the rim and kicked it out for a wide open Bruno Fitipaldo three-pointer. It did not fall and celebrations for the several thousand Israeli fans in Malaga could commence.

Game hero: Khadeen Carrington was on another level in this one. With 19 points off the bench, the lefty guard turbo-boosted Hapoel's offense, creating for himself and knocking down tough shot after tough shot. He finished on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.

Honorable mention goes to Siim-Sander Vene. The Estonian forward knocked down a pair of big three-pointers in the final three minutes, keeping Jerusalem alive, and collected 15 points, also coming off the bench.

Stats don't lie: Tenerife were supposed to have the depth in this one, but Hapoel's second unit outscored them 48-31. The defending champs knocked down just 5-of-22 shots from beyond the arc, way below Jerusalem's 9-of-16 from the same distance.

Bottom line: Marcelinho Huertas put on another offensive show with 20 points on the night, but Hapoel's intensity was so strong even the fast flowing Tenerife offense went stale.

Teams have two days to rest, then Lenovo Tenerife will play the Third Place Game, while Jerusalem await the winner of Unicaja v Telekom Baskets Bonn in the Final on Sunday.

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