Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Haifa 80-67 as Jalen Adams was the star of the show to keep the Reds in first place overall in the standings. Yotam Halperin’s squad got out to a great start and went on an 11-0 run to take a 24-8 lead after the first quarter but James Ennis scored at will to try to keep his team close. However, Willy Workman brought power in the paint grabbing rebounds and scoring inside to notch the victory for the capital city squad.

“We were there on defense from these start,” Halperin began. “It wasn’t easy in the last game against them with their aggressiveness and intensity but we were able to stop them and we opened up a bigger gap as well. The bench was very good today no matter who came on to play and they all gave something especially when we were missing a player like Retin Obasohan. We stayed together as a team and we’re terrific.”

“We had a total black out in the first quarter and Jerusalem came ready to play,” Haifa coach Elad Hasin said. “When you play here you can’t go down by 15 points in the first quarter. We have improve as a team and we have to get back to the basics. Our defense has to get better.”

Willy Workman also reflected on the game, “It’s money time and every game is important as it will determine who you will play in the playoffs and seeding for home court advantage. But it’s really the time of the season where you build positive momentum and carry that from game to game. There are no more games that you can dismiss at this point.

Suleiman Briamoh scored inside while Noam Dovrat went from the outside for Hapoel Jerusalem to begin the game but points from James Ennis and James Dickey kept Hapoel Haifa in the game early but down 8-5 midway through the first quarter. Jalen Adams, Itay Segev, Willy Workman and Dovrat all contributed baskets while Adam Ariel went from deep to give the hosts a 24-8 lead after ten minutes of play.

Workman scooped the ball into the basket, Amit Gershon scored a floater, James Ennis and Kadeem Allen responded but Jerusalem stayed in front 30-16 with 6:30 left in the second quarter. Adams hit a jumper for two and added another for three, Allen came back with a triple of his own, Will Rayman found points while Ariel and Amit Simhon traded 3-pointers as Yotam Halperin’s team took a 46-31 advantage into halftime.

Ennis began the third quarter from downtown and added a slew of free throws to pull to within 48-40 midway through the period. Segev scored for Jerusalem, Adams stripped Allen and went in for a free layup, Braimoh cleaned up a Dovrat miss, Workman scored in the paint as did Egbunu to give the Reds a 65-51 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Egbunu began the fourth quarter just as he ended the third with a bucket, Ennis answered for Elad Hasin’s squad and KC Rivers went from deep as Jerusalem kept the lead 72-54 with 5:39 left in regulation time. Workman added points in the paint, Ennis hit a pair from behind the arc, Simhon hit a corner 3-ball, but it was too little too late as the Reds took the 13-point victory.

Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Nes Ziona 89-82 as J’Covan Brown made a triumphant return to the Reds lineup with a double-double after being out with an injury while the victory strengthens Danny Franco’s team’s position to take one of the two remaining playoff spots.

Hapoel Tel Aviv came out flying with the return of veteran point guard J’Covan Brown who orchestrated the offense to perfection dishing out 8 assists in the first half as JP Tokoto and Bar Timor shared the scoring to give the Reds a 51-41 lead. Wayne Selden and Diante Garrett helped trim the lead to just 6-points by the end of the third quarter but Brown’s brilliant play bumped the score back up as his MVP performance led Danny Franco’s team to the win.

Brown scored 20 points and added 10 assists, Tokoto scored 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds while Timor chipped in with 16 points for Hapoel. Garrett paced the visitors with 21 points, Wayne Selden added 19 points and Frank Bartley scored 16 points in the loss.

“I’m content with the win and maybe I should have expanded my rotation because we tired a bit near the end,” winning coach Danny Franco said. “Our goal with remaining games is to get into the best shape possible in three weeks time from now.”

“Day after day I am feeling better,” J’Covan Brown said. “I push myself to come back better and help my brothers. I’ve had some injuries but my faith is very strong. I embrace every situation and I never lose faith. The crowd gives all that they can from the beginning to end. They are something special.”

“We dug ourselves a hole in the first and from there we had to chase after Hapoel especially at the Drive In Arena which makes things very difficult, but we definitely showed character and came back into the game,” Nes Ziona coach Lior Lubin explained.