Bnei Herzliya surprised Hapoel Jerusalem 83-79 to earn their spot in the Winner Cup semifinals where they will tip-off against Maccabi Ramat Gan on Friday afternoon. Yehu Orland’s team began the game on fire as Shalev Lugassi, Chris Silva and John Meeks all made their presence felt. Jared Harper and Yovel Zoosman willed the reds back into the game and took a 5-point lead into the final frame but Meeks, Jimmy Clark, Ethan Burg and Chris Silva all scored crucial baskets down the stretch to regain the lead and hold on for the win.

Meeks scored 20 points, Burg added 17 points and Lugassi chipped in with 14 points in the win, Harper scored 23 points, Justin Smith put in 16 points and Yovel Zoosman scored 14 points in the loss.

“I’m proud that we were able to set the tone with our aggressiveness,” Bnei Herzliya head coach Yehu Orland said. “We had a terrific pick and roll going on offense as well. We are trying to build up our team defense and I’m thrilled that we were able to hold Jerusalem to just 79 points.”

“This loss is not connected to Hapoel Tel Aviv’s defeat to Ramat Gan, it’s our loss and our performance,” Jerusalem head coach Yonatan Alon began. “We started the game poorly and while we did make a comeback to take the lead the game could have ended in a win by ether side but we missed some shots at the end.”

Eitan Burg spoke about the victory over the Reds, “It was a lot of fun as we battled one of the best teams in the country. It was a big win for us but we have to take victory into proportion as it was a preseason game, but we are still very content as we head into the season. It gave us a feeling that we can compete.”

Jared Harper reflected on the game, “Tough game overall and as a team we don’t like to lose. We got down early and we were down by about 20 points but we stayed together as a team and we did everything that we could do to get back into the game. l’Il take the tough ending on myself as I had a couple of turnovers and missed shots. It was a learning experience.”

Bnei Herzliya came out flying to begin the game as Chris Silva dominated the inside while Shalev Lugassi hit a pair from the outside, Gaby Chachashvili and Chris Johnson responded for Hapoel Jerusalem as Jared Harper knocked down a wide open 3-pointer to try to cut down the gap but Yehu Orland’s squad grabbed a 25-14 lead after ten minutes of play.

John Meeks led off period two from deep, Ethan Burg scored his second 3-pointer of the game and added a long jumper but as Herzliya sported a 35-20 lead Frederic Bourdillon received a pair of technicals and was ejected from the game midway through the second quarter. Ethan Burg hit a step back jumper, Jimmy Clark scored a layup as well, Harper hit his free throws and Yovel Zoosman and Justin Smith scored as well but Herzliya stayed in front 47-35 at halftime.

Speedy Smith, Yovel Zoosman, Gaby Chachashvili and a triple by Or Cornelius swiftly cut down the Herzliya lead to just 6-points less than three minutes into the second half while Justin Smith from the inside, Zoosman from the outside and Harper in the paint pushed Yonatan Alon’s team ahead 52-51 midway through the third quarter. Justin Smith added a pair in the paint, Jeremy Morgan did the same, Meeks and Burg gave Herzliya some life but the reds took a 66-61 lead into the final frame.

Jimmy Clark and Meeks scored to open the fourth quarter, Speedy Smith and Justin Smith responded, Meeks and Harper traded buckets, Clark found points inside while Silva scored a 3-point play to put Herzliya ahead and iced the game with a pair of free throws to send his squad to the semifinals.