Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Eilat 88-78 at the Pais Arena in the capital city to improve to 4-0 on the season, making it their best start since the 2020/21 season while the Red Sea City squad saw their record drop to 2-2. Next up for the Reds is a huge EuroCup clash against Aris at their home away from home in Belgrade, Serbia on Wednesday.

Jerusalem never trailed in the game and got off to a 13-0 lead after the opening tip-off, but the visitors themselves went on a 14-0 run of their own in the second quarter but Sasa Obradovic’s team went into halftime holding a 43-37 advantage. Jerusalem bumped up the lead in the third period as Dusan Miletic helped open up a 16-point lead in the final frame as the hosts chalked up the win.

Jaleen Smith led five Jerusalem players in double figures with 18 points, David Roddy added 12 points while Miletic and Eitan Burg each scored 11 points in the win while Tzuf Ben Moshe scored 17 points in the loss.

Jerusalem Head Coach Sasa Obradovic summed up the win, “We missed easy shots around the basket, which put us in a difficult situation. Maybe we haven’t played against much zone defense, so we had to adjust to it, but we finished with a solid result. We didn’t always defend him well and he created opportunities for others. We’ll analyze this game, but it’s important to put it behind us ahead of Wednesday, which is one of the games we circled on the calendar this season.

“Aris will be aggressive and we’re expecting a physical game. We’ll be physical as well. Two players didn’t play today and they can bring quality and experience. Aris beat mighty Panathinaikos and that tells you something too. They may be the most aggressive team in Europe this season, but we’ll fight.”

Oren Aharoni, Eilat’s head coach spoke about the defeat, “We started very poorly and without the intensity required against an opponent like this. We came back into the game, but Jerusalem is a team that can hurt you in so many different ways. We weren’t focused enough to put them under pressure and cut the deficit to four points. We simply weren’t good enough to win here. Credit must go to Jerusalem’s defense. Their big men defended at a very high level and forced us to do things a little differently.”

Dusan Miletic, who finished the game with 11 points and 9 rebounds, said, “First of all, I’m very happy that we won. It wasn’t an easy game; it was a bit of a tough one. In the first half, we missed layups and played well defensively, but we didn’t get the offensive rebounds. In the second half, we showed more physicality, played better as a team, and executed better.

Maccabi Ramat Gan defeated Hapoel HaEmek 86-77 on the road at the Haim Ohayon Arena in an Israeli Premier League matchup, improving to 3-1 while the hosts dropped to 1-3. In what was a back-and-forth contest, Ramat Gan held an 18-24 lead at the end of the first quarter before HaEmek responded with a 24-17 second period to take a 42-41 advantage into halftime.

The hosts opened the second half in impressive fashion, building a 53-43 lead, but Ramat Gan fought its way back. After JJ Kaplan gave HaEmek a 70-67 lead with a 3-pointer with 6:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, Ramat Gan went on a decisive 15-0 run to take an 82-70 advantage and from there notch the win. Justin Lewis led the way for Ramata Gan with 20 points, Jaylen Adams added 16 points and Bryce Washington contributed 14 points in the victory while Malik Hall put in 16 points, Niv Misgav scored 12 points as Cameron Henry finished the game with 11 points in the loss.

Kiryat Ata downed Bnei Herzliya 97-87 at home in the Remez Arena as both teams now sport 2-2 records early on in the season. Eldad Bentov’s team jumped out to a slim 51-50 lead by halftime but fine play by Jordan Cohen, Tomer Asayag, Yuval Levin and Daniel Sharon in the second half helped the hosts to the ten-point win.

Kiryat Ata’s Israeli contingent scored 78 of the team’s 97 points while Yehu Orland’s squad only received a 22-point contribution from its Sabras to tell the tale of the victory. Asayag scored 19 points, Cohen added 17 points and Levin chipped in with 15 points while Zack Bryant scored 22 points and Deashon Francis put in 16 points in the loss.