Hap Jerusalem faces stern test in Seville

Katash's squad will face a deep and balanced Sevilla roster led by guard Louis Bullock.

By ALLON SINAI
Brian Randle 311 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Brian Randle 311
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Hapoel Jerusalem has slowly begun to find its form in recent weeks, but it can make a real statement on Tuesday night when it visits Cajasol Sevilla in the Eurocup.
Jerusalem began its Eurocup campaign with an easy 91-78 win over VEF Riga last week before thrashing Maccabi Haifa on Saturday for its third straight BSL victory.
However, Sevilla will present a challenge of a completely different level for Hapoel, something star-guard Will Solomon clearly understands.
“To go further in this competition you have to beat the best and Seville is one of those teams,” said Solomon, who scored 17 points in the win over Riga. “It’s not easy because they have quality all through the squad.”
Jerusalem will face a deep and balanced Sevilla roster led by guard Louis Bullock. The American was one of three Cajasol players to score 17 points in last week’s 93-77 win at CEZ Nymburk, and Hapoel coach Oded Katash has no illusions of the size of the task his team faces against Sevilla’s deep roster.
“We are playing better than we did at the start of the season,” Katash said. “We have been through a very difficult week which included league wins over Ashkelon and Haifa as well as the victory against Riga, but we are facing an even tougher game against Sevilla.
“Better teams than us have failed to stop Bullock. But it’s not just him. We are facing an entire team which plays at a very high intensity and we will have to match its aggression.”
Also Tuesday, Hapoel Gilboa/Galil will look to build on last week’s win at Cedevita Zagreb when it hosts Sharon Drucker’s Aris Thessaloniki at Malha Arena, while Barak Netanya welcomes the Norrkoping Dolphins in its second game of the EuroChallenge regular season.
Maccabi Haifa’s EuroChallenge game against Khimik Yuzhny was postponed after the Ukrainians had their passports stolen.
Drucker, who took charge of Aris in the summer after being sacked by Maccabi Tel Aviv where he was Pini Gershon’s assistant, led the Greeks to an 88-75 win over BC Azovmash last week, but lost playmaker Pierre Pierce to injury and is expecting a tough time against Gilboa, which came back from 19 points down to defeat Hapoel Holon on Sunday.
“We are entering the game on the back of a painful defeat in the Greek league and we also lost Pierce to injury,” Drucker said. “This is far from ideal, but we will have to do our best to rebound against Gilboa.”
In BSL action on Monday, Meir Tapiro led Maccabi Ashdod to a 90-85 overtime victory over Bnei Hasharon in Herzliya. Tapiro recorded a rare triple-double, scoring 10 points, dishing 11 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Ramel Bradley added 25 points for Ashdod, which improved to 3-3. Ron Steele and Lee Nailon scored 19 points each for Bnei Hasharon, which suffered just its second loss this season.