Maccabi TA thrashed by CSKA in Moscow; Jerusalem beaten by Red Star Belgrade

Maccabi TA thrashed by CSKA in Moscow; Jerusalem beaten by Red Star Belgrade.

By ALLON SINAI
Hapoel Jerusalem guard Yotam Halperin (photo credit: DANNY MARON)
Hapoel Jerusalem guard Yotam Halperin
(photo credit: DANNY MARON)
Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered its second defeat of the pre-season to CSKA Moscow on Sunday night, falling 95-73 in the final of the Gomelsky Cup.
The new look Maccabi has shown some promising signs so far this summer with wins over Barcelona and Panathinaikos.
However, it hasn’t been able to handle CSKA to date, effectively losing Sunday’s game in the first 10 minutes.
Moscow opened an 18-point gap by the end of the first quarter, scoring 36 points to Maccabi’s 18. The yellow-and-blue closed within eight points in the third quarter, but never came close to completing a comeback.
Maccabi’s latest signing Colton Iverson had 12 points, with Itay Segev scoring 11.
Maccabi was playing without the injured Andrew Goudelock.
Hapoel Jerusalem continued to struggle in pre-season action on Sunday, with the team ending the Crete Heraklion tournament in last place following a 67-59 defeat to Red Star Belgrade.
Jerusalem lost 94-76 to Anadolu Efes of Turkey in its first game of the event on Friday, with Greece’s Olympiacos the fourth team in the tournament. All three teams will play in the Euroleague this season, with Jerusalem to participate in the Eurocup.
Hapoel took a two-point edge into the fourth quarter (47-45), but a 14-3 Red Star run to start the final frame put the Serbians in control and they maintained it until the final buzzer.
Curtis Jerrells finished with 15 points for Jerusalem, with six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire scoring 11 points.
Jerrells and Stoudemire were part of the overhaul Jerusalem underwent this summer, with Italian coach Simone Pianigiani being hired and seven new players being brought aboard, including six Americans: Stoudemire, Jerome Dyson, Tarene Kinsey, Shawn Jones, Travis Peterson and Jerrells.
Israelis Yotam Halperin, Lior Eliyahu, Bar Timor and Rafi Menco are the only survivors from last season, with Isaac Rosefelt joining from Hapoel Holon.
Maccabi and Jerusalem will already be back in action on Tuesday when they play in the quarterfinals of the BSL’s pre-season Winner Cup at Ein Sara Arena in Nahariya.
Maccabi, which won the title last year, faces Bnei Herzliya while Jerusalem comes up against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
The first two quarterfinals will take place on Monday, with the entire tournament to be held in Nahariya.
Reigning BSL champion Maccabi Rishon Lezion faces Maccabi Haifa before Nahariya plays Hapoel Eilat.
Rishon has undergone a complete overhaul from last season, with only three seniors players from the triumphant roster returning for another year. Israelis Avi Ben-Shimol, Nitzan Hanochi and Idan Zalmanson could also still be joined by star guard Shawn Dawson, who will miss the Winner Cup as he is currently participating in the New Orleans Pelicans’ training camp, hoping to realize his NBA dream.
The Winner Cup semifinals will be held on Thursday, with the final to take place on Saturday. The BSL regular season begins on October 8.