Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Paris 93-82 as Antonio Blakeney helped the Reds pick up the victory in what was a home game in Sofia, Bulgaria due to the current war with Iran. The French squad jumped out to an early lead thanks to Nadir Hifi and Jared Rhoden but Blakeney, along with Elijah Bryant and Dan Oturu were too each to handle as Dimitrios Itoudis’s team chalked up the victory. The win moves Hapoel’s record to 19-11 as they remain in 5th place as they will now ready for Bologna on Thursday night back in Sofia.

Blakeney scored 24 points, Bryant added 18 points and Oturu scored 15 points in the win while Hifi scored 16 points and Rhoden put in 13 points in the loss.

Nadir Hifi and Jeremy Morgan paced Paris to a quick start while Ish Wainright responded for Hapoel Tel Aviv, but points from Yakuba Ouattara gave the visitors a 30-24 lead after ten minutes of play. Jared Rhoden and Allan Dokossi extended the advantage but baskets from Elijah Bryant and Antonio Blakeney from the inside and outside along with points by big man Dan Oturu pulled the reds to within a point, 53-52 at halftime.

Rhoden and Hifi tried to keep Francesco Tabellini’s side in front as the third quarter began but Collin Malcolm and Bryant scored while Blakeney poured points in from deep to give Dimitrios Itoudis’s team a 75-69 lead after thirty minutes of action. Rhoden again scored to lead off the final frame but Bryant, Blakeney and Oturu all scored to close out the win.

“The first half we gave up 53 points and that was a lot of points,” Itoudis said following the win. “But in the second half we gave up only 29 points and we played amazing one on one defense and executed really well. They have aggressive players and you need to play smart and space smart. Everyone helped in this win. Now we have to prepare for another tough game on Thursday and see how our injured players are and go from there.”

“At the end of the day the difference was shot making,” Tabellini said. “Relying on that against this type of team is difficult. We could have done a bit better by pushing the game to the direction we wanted to our type of game and our type of basketball, but we were not consistent at both ends. But we competed and that’s the most important thing.”

The MVP of the game Antonio Blakeney spoke about the victory, “It’s about ending each game with a win and not being the top scorer or anything like that. We have to stay prepared, take care of our bodies and believe in each other. We have a deep roster and any given night someone else can have a great game.”

Ish Wainright spoke about his love of the game and the key going forward, “This is the game I love and I don’t take any game for granted, you’re going to see a smile no matter what. As for keys, we just got to stick together, play together and follow the game plan.”