Hapoel Jerusalem remained in the hunt for a place in the Eurocup Last 16 on
Wednesday, beating Budivelnik Kiev 81-67 at Malha Arena for its first
continental win of the season.
Jerusalem dropped to 0-2 in Group A last
week after losing at home by 17 points to CEZ Nymburk of the Czech Republic, but
bounced back with a promising display on Wednesday.
Jerusalem essentially
clinched the win by outscoring Kiev 27- 15 in the second quarter to take a
16-point gap (49-33) into the break.
“We still have a chance of
advancing, especially as we won by a big margin,” said Hapoel coach Sharon
Drucker, whose team maintained full control in the second half.
“We
stayed alive and the guys deserve every credit for their excellent
work.”
Craig Smith led Jerusalem with 18 points, while Josh Duncan scored
17 and Raviv Limonad added 13 points for Hapoel, which outrebounded the
Ukrainians 49-26.
“This is just our first win and hopefully we can play
even better next week because we will need to do so to beat Kiev on the road,”
said Meir Tapiro, who ended the night with nine points and five
assists.
“This team is taking time to gel, but as long we have a chance
we will fight for it.”
Former Jerusalem player Leo Lyons led Kiev with 18
points.
Hapoel Holon improved to 2-1 in EuroChallenge Group H on
Wednesday, defeating Antwerp Giants 88-64.
Holon was down by 10 points
(53-43) with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter, but turned
the game on its head with a stunning 33-3 run (76-56).
Jerome Dyson and
Sean Daniel led six Holon players in double-figures with 18 points.
Bryan
Hopkins had 16 points for Antwerp.
Maccabi Tel Aviv left for Italy on
Wednesday ahead of Friday’s Euroleague game against Montepaschi Siena, giving
its foreign players a much-needed breather from the security situation in
Israel.
Guard David Logan decided to send his wife and daughter back to
the US for a break, with Devin Smith also considering flying his family back
home.
“I’m trying not to think too much about all that is going on and
focus on my job at Maccabi,” Smith said.
“My family is here but we feel
okay. We believe that nothing will happen to us so we continue to pray that our
situation will be okay.
“My wife is a strong person and she doesn’t want
to leave unless I leave so she’s not going anywhere.”
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