Hapoel HaEmek crushed Maccabi Rishon LeZion 80-60 on the road at Beit Maccabi to even its record at 1-1, while Rishon dropped to 0-2. Following the dismissal of Head Coach Sharon Avraham due to professional disagreements with the club’s management, HaEmek took the floor with assistant coach Golan Jablonowsky serving as interim head coach.

HaEmek controlled the opening quarter to take a 21-12 lead, but Rishon responded with a 21-9 second quarter to go into halftime ahead 33-30. However, the visitors regained control after the break, outscoring the hosts 28-15 in the third quarter and 22-12 in the fourth to seal the convincing win. Malik Hall led the way with 30 points while Niv Misgav contributed 12 points in the victory as Justin Tillman was the only player in double digits for Rishon with 20 points in the loss.

“I can’t sum up the game without saying a word about Sharon,” HaEmek’s Jablonowsky began. “We’ve come a long way together and he deserves a lot of credit for this win, especially for the warm words of encouragement he gave me. I’m happy we started well, moved away from our game plan, and managed to come back in the second half the way we know how. We stuck to the game plan and that’s what won us the game.”

“A game of ups and downs,” said Rishon head coach Guy Kaplan. “We started focused but were a little hesitant offensively and we missed shots we’re capable of making. Eventually, we found the lineup that brought us back into the game. We wanted to continue along the same lines in the second half, but we got stuck offensively and our shooting percentages were poor and that affected our spirit and our defense. We disappointed our fans, the club and ourselves.”

Down south, Hapoel Eilat defeated Hapoel Holon 78-69 by the Red Sea at the Begin Arena to improve to 2-0 in Israel Basketball Premier League play, while Holon fell to 0-2 early on in the season. Oren Aharoni’s team shot just 3/17 from beyond the arc (17.6%) and committed 19 turnovers. Holon also struggled from 3-point range, shooting 10/33 (30.3%), while turning the ball over 19 times. Eilat came out strong, taking a 20-11 lead after the first quarter.

Holon battled back, but Eilat ultimately held on for the victory. James Dickey paced the southerners with 21 points and Kendale McCullum added 11 points in the win while Rivaldo Soares scored 15 points and Shahar Amir put in 12 points in the loss.

Up north, Hapoel Galil Elyon edged Maccabi Ramat Gan 104-101 at home in a dramatic contest in Kfar Blum as both teams now hold 1-1 records. The visitors started well and took a 46-43 lead into halftime, but Galil Elyon finished the third quarter well by outscoring Ramat Gan 33-23 to take a 7-point advantage. The hosts extended its lead to as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, but Ramat Gan chipped away at the deficit and had a chance to cut the margin to three with possession in the closing moments. However, the visitors turned the ball over, allowing Galil Elyon to escape with the victory. Alston Mason scored 26 points and Itay Moskovits added 23 points in the win while LJ Figueroa put in 20 points and Ahmad Caver scored 17 points in the loss.