Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Maccabi Ashdod 81-67 as Eugene German scored 31 points in the comeback win at the Drive In Arena. The port city side grabbed an early lead thanks to Robert Turner who scored 20 points in the contest and went into halftime up 48-46. But the reds put the defensive clamps on in the second half limiting the visitors to just 19 points as German, Tomer Ginat with 12 points and Antonio Blakeney with 10 points all contributed to the victory.

Reds Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis summed up the victory, “It was great to be back here at the Drive In Arena. The fans were behind us and we responded with a win. We knew it would be difficult. Ashdod are a good team, well prepared and full of offensive talent. We needed to change our mindset because we came out very disorganized and that is unacceptable.”

The coach continued, “We needed to talk at halftime, both among the coaching staff and with the players, so that we could come out better in the second half. You cannot come here, put on the Hapoel jersey, and play without making an effort. That’s what changed after halftime, and we need to see that from every player.”

Ashdod Bench Boss Dan Katzir spoke about the defeat, “We could have done things better in the second half, we were a little passive. When Guy Palatin came on, it changed the pace of the game. We didn’t respond well and we’ll have to learn from it. The first half was our best offensively, while the second was our worst. We also got tired, and they increased their aggression. In an arena like this, you get punished very quickly.”

Bnei Herzliya outlasted Nes Ziona 103-96 in a game that was decided in double overtime as Zack Bryant, Amit Gershon and Dusty Hannahs all came through down the stretch to help notch the win. Bryant scored 23 points, DJ Brewton added 21 points and Hannahs put in 20 points in the victory while Josh Christopher scored 30 points and Jackson Rowe scored 21 points in the loss.

Herzliya Head Coach Yehu Orland spoke about the win, “We’re not good enough at the moment. We have an important game against Porto on Wednesday in the BCL and one of our goals is to advance to the next round in Europe. I hope we can bring the victory back home to Israel.”

Nes Ziona Head Coach Paul Corsaro looked back at the loss, “We turned the ball over 19 times, made poor decisions and shot 6/34 from beyond the arc. It’s difficult to win under those circumstances. We grew from the first game to the second and I’m proud of the effort. But those statistics ultimately led to the defeat. There’s still a lot of basketball left to play and we need to improve every week and make progress.”