ULEB Cup: Hap J'lem storms past Den Bosch at Malha

Records important win despite suffering one of its worst losses of the season only 48 hours earlier.

By ALLON SINAI
Hapoel Jerusalem 298.88 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Hapoel Jerusalem 298.88
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Despite playing without its star player Jamie Arnold and suffering one of its worst losses of the season only 48 hours earlier, Hapoel Jerusalem recorded an important win in the ULEB Cup on Tuesday night, thrashing Den Bosch 112-97 at the Malha Arena. Four Jerusalem players scored more than 20 points, with Sharon Sasson leading the team with 23 points, five assists and five steals. Anthony Roberson and Timmy Bowers each added 21 points, with Ramel Curry scoring 20 for the Israeli side (4-3). Roberson and Curry had been extremely disappointing since moving to Jerusalem this season up until Tuesday's game and Hapoel coach Dan Shamir will be hoping their performance against Den Bosch will prove to be a turning point for his American imports. "We're going through difficult times, but we played well tonight," Shamir said after the game. "We played well offensively, but it's still clear that we've got plenty of things to correct." Darrel Tucker scored 23 points for Den Bosch, which falls to 2-5 with the defeat. Also Tuesday, Hapoel Galil Elyon suffered its sixth defeat in seven ULEB Cup games, losing 82-73 to Russian side Triumph Lyubertsy. Galil, which no longer has a chance to advance in the competition, led by six points after 10 minutes (23-17), but the strong Russian team opened a lead in the third quarter and improved its overall record to 6-1. Gili Mosinzon scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Galil, with Sergey Toporov leading Lyubertsy with 17 points. Eli Kaneti resigned from his position as Galil coach just a couple hours before the game and will be replaced by Danny Franco. In Jerusalem, the teams traded baskets during the entire first period but Roberson's buzzer-beating three-pointer gave the hosts a 27-26 lead after 10 minutes. Israeli Roei Berkowitz's three brought Den Bosch within five points (39-34), but Hapoel would blow away the Dutchmen as the half drew to a close. Bowers was unstoppable, hitting shots from every point on the floor, and Currry's basket with 30 seconds remaining made sure the hosts took a 61-41 lead into the interval. Bowers's basket at the end of the period made sure the hosts were still comfortably ahead with 10 minutes to play (88-72). After playing poorly for the first three quarters of the game, the visitors never really had a real chance of closing the big deficit and Hapoel improved its home record to 9-0 in all competitions.