It will be a busy Wednesday night for Israeli basketball teams with Hapoel Tel Aviv playing in the Euroleague, Hapoel Jerusalem tipping off in the EuroCup and Bnei Herzliya in Basketball Champions League action.

Hapoel Tel Aviv welcome Virtus Bologna to their home away from home in Sofia, Bulgaria (19:00) for a Euroleague Round 7 matchup as the Reds will look to keep up the positive momentum after sweeping a double week and downing the first place team, Panathinaikos at OAKA Arena this past Friday night. Dimitrios Itoudis’s team is in 6th place with a 4-2 record which ties them Valencia and Red Star who are in fourth and fifth places respectively. The Italian side also sports a 4-2 record and are just behind Hapoel in 7th place as Alex Mumbru’s club has surprised some with their competitiveness.

Former Israeli league player Marcus Carr has stepped into a leading role with Bologna after having played with Bnei Herzliya and Hapoel Galil Elyon while Derrick Alston Jr. and Wendel Moore are also players to keep an eye on.

Hapoel Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis said, “We will face a very athletic team, that generates a lot of points from there energy and athleticism. They have four wins in a row in the EuroLeague and have showed a lot of character, and they bring a completely new philosophy this season. Overall, it is another tough game in the EuroLeague that awaits us.”

Guard Vasilije Micic added, “We are coming in the midst of a good streak from our side both in the EuroLeague and the Israeli League, but we know that we want to continue this period and for that we will need 40 minutes of full focus in order to beat Virtus. Virtus is a good team that is also in a good streak of its own, so we will come concentrated and ready for a very tough game.”

Tomas Satoransky discussed the latest with the Reds, “The atmosphere is good. We’ve had a few wins in the EuroLeague and the Israeli league, but we know how the EuroLeague works. You can’t afford to relax for even one game. I think Bologna is playing well and has a good team. They’re very athletic and physical, and their players try to run a lot and force turnovers. So we have to be especially focused, avoid giving them the ball, make smart decisions and switch on defense.”

Alex Mumbru, the Virtus Bologna head coach also spoke about the clash, “We have a very tough game ahead of us against a team that’s riding a wave of confidence after beating Panathinaikos by 20 points on the road, a team built to make it to the Final Four and compete for the title. We know that playing on the road makes the challenge even tougher, but we’re going there to try to win.”

Guard Tommaso Baldasso shared his thoughts, “It will be a tough game against a team that just won on a challenging road court like Panathinaikos’s. Hapoel is a talented and physical team; we’re well aware of how difficult it is to face this type of opponent and just how dangerous they are. They’re a strong, well-coached team. From our side, we want to stay on our current process: keep improving, strive to become the best version of ourselves, and follow Coach’s instructions and our style of play.”

Hapoel Jerusalem will look to add to their win total when they host Riga Zelli in Belgrade Serbia on Wednesday (21:00) as the Reds sit in second place in Group A with a 3-0 record just one place ahead of the Latvian squad who are in third place with a 2-1 record. Sasa Obradovic’s team is coming off a tight 85-84 road victory over San Pablo Burgos in a game the took place a week ago in arguably one of the team’s best wins in Europe.

Sasa Obradovic spoke ahead of the matchup, “Riga is a well-organized team with a good coach and they’re a team that will cause some surprises in the EuroCup. We need to raise our level and maintain it for all 40 minutes so that we have fewer stretches where we struggle to score, as we’ve had in several recent games. That’s normal at this stage of the season. We know how important it is to play well, and we’re still building the right chemistry in every aspect.”

David Roddy also discussed the matchup and the keys for Hapoel Jerusalem, “Riga is a fast and smart team. They play a lot of small-ball, they’re very explosive offensively, and they’re also pretty solid defensively. The key is to limit their transition opportunities, restrict their freedom with the ball on offense, and play our game.”

Zelli Head Coach Rokas Kondratavicius spoke about the upcoming clash, “We are facing Jerusalem, one of the strongest rosters in the EuroCup. It also has a big coach in [Sasa] Obradovic. It is a very solid team with not many weaknesses, but if we want to win this game, we still need to find where to attack them, where to stop them in defense, and of course show energy for all 40 minutes, then we have a chance to be in the game and, when the time comes, try to break the game in our side.”

Guard Toms Skuja shared his feelings as well, “This upcoming game against Jerusalem will be a really good test for us as a group, just to see where we’re at as a team. We’re going to go out, try our best, and see where the game brings us.”

Bnei Herzliya will host Porto on Wednesday in the second round of the FIBA Basketball Champions League group stage at the Samokov Arena in Bulgaria. Porto will be making its BCL debut after winning the Portuguese championship last season for the first time in a decade. American guard Corey Allen remains with the team from last season, while Childe Dundao is among the competition’s intriguing newcomers. The Angolan national team point guard stands just 1.67 meters tall and is making his European debut this season. Porto also added veteran guard James Woodard, who finished third in the BCL with Ludwigsburg in 2022.

Both teams enter the matchup following road losses in the opening round of the BCL. Herzliya fell to Joventut Badalona 86–75, with Broughton leading the team in scoring with 20 points. Porto opened its campaign with a 78–74 defeat at Bonn, with Woodard leading the Portuguese side with 13 points.

Herzliya coach Yehu Orland said, “We set ourselves the goal this season of being competitive in Europe as well. The game against Porto is a key one for us in our bid to advance to the next stage. Portuguese basketball has developed in recent years, and Porto have built a very good team this summer. We will need to stay focused and be at our best to win.”

Amit Gershon added, “We are coming into the game with a lot of motivation and want to carry the momentum forward from our league win over Ness Ziona. This game against Porto is very important in the battle for a place in the next stage of the competition, and we will do everything we can to return to Israel with the win.”