It took some time for Hapoel Tel Aviv to get rolling but once they did in the third quarter they said, goodbye, so long and farewell to a Dubai team that had caused them all kinds of issues in the first half but only figured out how to score 19 points in the second as the Reds ran away with a 85-60 win at Yad Eliyahu.

Dubai’s size and aggressiveness gave Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad fits over the opening twenty minutes and actually went into halftime down 41-36 in what was a rough and tumble first half. The likes of Mfiondu Kabengele and Filip Petrusev beat up on Hapoel’s bigs Dan Oturu and Johnathan Motley in quarters one and two while Tai Odiase being the only reds center that could do anything over that time period.

However, when the third quarter begin it was the Vasilije Micic and Antonio Blakeney with a side dish of Odiase who just smashed the team from the United Arab Emirates in what was a historical victory for Hapoel.

Micic was making his return to the court after having been out for a number of weeks and looked mighty fine, moving and grooving to the beta and looking very spry on the court, getting to his spots and playing MVP basketball just as he did in his time with Anadolu EFES. Blakeney was the volume scorer who was able to unleash his shooting prowess without a hand in his face as he had experienced last week in the loss to Zalgiris.

But it was Odiase who surprised the over 7,000 fans dressed in red that descended upon Yad Eliyahu and see their men in black do as they please over the course of the final twenty minutes of play. The Glenwood, Illinois native joined the Reds this summer after having featured in Turkey, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece along with the G-League.

Odiase has played extremely well in the Israeli league with 15.3 points per game and uses his presence in the paint to do as he pleases against many of the country’s teams. But his playing time in the Euroleague has been very limited to date with just 75 minutes in just 9 appearances prior to the 18+ he received against Dubai where he scored 11 points while grabbing 7 rebounds.

“I give minutes to those that they can help the team,” Itoudis said. “I’m the one making the calls. I’ve been signed by great guys to make decisions and I will make decisions based on what is better for the team. We have 7,000 fans and probably one million opinions, but I’m the one making the calls, together with my assistant coaches and together with the picture that I have from the practice. Motley gave us quality minutes at four and he created different spacing, it gave us more spacing to use Tai, but it’s not only that. When Tai checked in, he gave a boost to the team.”

Odiase understood the deal when he signed, so there were no surprises for the big man as the campaign began. But in his heart of hearts he knew that at some point Hapoel and Itoudis would need him and that’s what occurred. There was no question that Odiase had the goods to perform in the Euroleague and at 30-years old he finally made his debut in Europe’s best league to the delight of many including himself.

“I have confidence in my ability as well,” Odiase said after the win. “Just because I’m not playing as much doesn’t mean I can’t play. So when I get out there, I put as much confidence. I’m here for a reason. I’m playing Euroleague for a reason. So I think of myself as a top Euroleague player as well, even though I don’t get the minutes. Anytime I get on the court, I don’t shy away from any challenge.”

Last season at Bahcesehir, Odiase scored 10.8 points and grabbed 4.4 rebounds in 59 games while the year prior at Prometey along with time also spent in Puerto Rico, he scored 14.7 points and took 5.3 boards in 82 games, just like an NBA season.

One should not think that this will be a weekly occurrence for Odiase, he’s only going to play in situations where he will be needed most, nothing more and nothing less. Against Dubai with Johnathan Motley playing the power forward position next to Dan Oturu and with Ish Wainright on the bench not being able to match the size of the Dubai big men, it gave Itoudis the perfect opportunity to play Odiase and reap the benefits of his performance that led to a number of standing ovations.

Motley was thrilled for Odiase to be able to have an impact on the game, “Man, that’s really the key about being on a team like this. You’ve got to be ready for your chance. He’s good. He’s our leading scorer in the Israeli league, so we know what he can do. We see him every day. He’s always good, so I’m just glad you guys got to see it.”

Blakeney also praised the center, “I’m so happy for him man. He works every day. He works, he’s really encouraged. He never gives up and he practices hard every day. He battled a couple injuries as well but to see him go out there and play the way he played, I’m very happy for him.”

Together with Blakeney and Micic, the trio put in a solid performance and checked off another victory on their way to punching their ticket to the playoffs which would guarantee another season in the Euroleague.

Micic, who came back from injury had missed a few clashes, looked better than ever and perhaps the best physically he had all season long. Having Micic reset will be critical for Itoudis as the guard can do so much when he is playing at the top of his game.

“When Vasa has legs, he is one of the best players in this league,” Itoudis declared. “Together with Elijah Bryant, they occupy the best defenders of the other team and it creates space for the rest. After the injury, Vasa came back as a leader.”

The Serbian playmaker will be the key in this second round of games and Itoudis knows it as his team had only seen prime Micic on occasion over the course of the first few months he has been with the reds.

Motley was thrilled to have Micic back in the saddle, “It’s great, man. Everybody knows Vasa. MVP and big shot maker. He knows what to do and he’s been there before, plus he’s got the experience. It’s good to have your leader back.”

Blakeney added his thoughts on Micic’s return, “it’s great. It makes it easy on everybody. He draws so much attention. He can score and he can get other guys involved. There’s nothing he really can’t do on the court. So with him out there, it makes it easy on everybody.”

The bottom line is with Hapoel continuing to chalk up the wins, there seems to be no reason why they won’t succeed in reaching the first goal of making the playoffs and remaining in the Euroleague. Itoudis has the roster to do it and the depth despite losing Tyler Ennis for the balance of the season due to an Achilles injury. The Greek tactician has the goods to potentially go all the way as well, but the key will be is to keep collecting victories and adjusting their play when the necessity arises in order to stay on track.

“We are happy to have this team. Unfortunately, we built this team knowing the necessity and the importance to have a deep roster. We knew we have multiple competitions, a lot of flights and we need to have guys that can help us. So far, we managed it pretty well to have everybody in the rotation. Bravo to this management. After the losses, we analyzed why we lost. It was defense and rebounding. We asked ourselves what kind of metal we are made of and the players responded.”