Hapoel Holon downed Bnei Herzliya 99-94 as Justin Alston and Netanel Artzi starred to take a 2-0 series lead. Artzi was key early on for the purples while Elijah Stewart tried to match him basket for basket but the hosts grabbed a 37-30 advantage at halftime. Alston began filling the basket as John Meeks did the same but baskets by Iftach Ziv and Mike Davis bumped the lead up to double digits as Stewart tried to cut down the lead, however Holon closed out the game. The third clash in the best-of-5 series is slated to be played back in Herzliya on Sunday night (18:40).

Alston scored 30 points, Artzi added 23 points ahd Ziv put in 14 points in the win. Stewart scored 28 points, Meeks chipped in with 17 points and Josh Hawley scored 13 points in the loss.

“We started really well and were pushed on by the fans with amazing energy,” Holon head coach Guy Kaplan said. “The score was pretty high and that usually is good for a team like Herzliya. We bumped it up to double digits a number of times and then they brought it back down but we knew what to do to win the game.”

“The game was really split into two halves,” Herzliya coach Yehu Orland began. “The first half was not great ahd they took an 18-point lead. We were able to cut it down and did some good things, at the end they hit some really tough shots but we really believe that we can win at home and keep the series alive. We have to go one game at a time.”

Netanel Artzi reflected on the win, “I want to thank my teammates and the fans who were all here for the club in thsi game, we started well with a lot of energy and while we didn’t have the best season we really were thrilled to get off to a great start. We didn’t fall into the rods we had made in the past and I’m really happy we win. We are leading the series 2-0 but nothing is over and we haven’t done anything yet.”

Frederic Bourdillon have his thoughts on the game and series, “We didn’t start the game well and weren’t aggressive and then it was a game of runs. Every time we didn’t play good defense and offense we were punished, at the end it was close and I’m convinced we are still in the series and that we are better than them. We lost the first two games but it’s never finished it’s never over until the end. I truly believe that we are a better team, we have a few new players and we are going to win in Herzliya to bring it back here.”

DJ Cooper scored on the inside, Justin Alston and Mike Davis did the same from the outside for Hapoel Holon, Josh Hawley dunked as Shalev Lugashi and Elijah Stewart dialled up from long distance for Bnei Herzliya, Shachar Amir went from downtown and Netanel Artzi put in points to give the purples a 21-10 lead midway through the first quarter.

John Meeks drilled home a pair of 3-pointers, Artzi also went from beyond the arc, Meeks and Chinanu Onuaku both went from deep, Davis and Stewart traded triples, Alston did the same as Holon took a 37-30 lead after ten minutes of play.

Stewart began the second quarter with points, Alston went from the outside while Artzi scored from the inside, Frederic Bourdillon came back with points from deep, Meeks put in a layup, Davis went from deep, Iftach Ziv knocked down a jumper and Stewart scored inside to cut the lead down to 53-51 at halftime.

Amir opened up the third quarter with a pair from deep, Alston scored points a plenty, Stewart, Meeks and Hawley came back with points, Bourdillon went from downtown and Onuaku dunked to pull to within 71-69, but Michale Kyser quickly scored a pair inside, Dakarai Tucker dunked and Ziv added a bucket to give Holon a 80-69 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Hawley got the fourth quarter underway with a dunk, Onuaku scored in the paint, Alston responded, Stewart and Artzi traded triples, Lugashi went from deep, Kyser scored inside, Markel Johnson countered but Holon free throws down the stretch iced the game.