Hapoel Jerusalem disposed of Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion 84-78. After a close first half, the Reds used a strong third quarter to pull ahead as Oded Katash’s squad featured five players in double digits in the victory. Idan Zalmanson led the way with 14 points and 8 rebounds, John Holland added 14 points, James Feldeine chipped in with 13 points and Suleiman Braimoh added 12 points in the win. D’Angelo Harrison scored 17 points, Alex Hamilton chipped in with 12 points and Zach Hankins dropped 11 points and 8 rebounds in the defeat.

Jerusalem took a slim 12-10 lead as James Feldeine and Suleiman Braimoh paced the Reds while Zach Hankins did the same for Rishon after five minutes of action. Big man Idan Zalmanson scored a trio of buckets, Nimrod Levi hit a triple and a layup while D’Angelo Harrison and Alex Hamilton added points of his own to keep the wine city squad in the game but down 25-22 after ten minutes of action.

John Holland found his stroke for the Reds as Hamilton continued to score including a tear drop in the paint but Zalmanson kept Oded Katash’s squad in front 35-31 midway through the second quarter. Holland hit from deep but Harrison did as well as Jerusalem closed out the half in front 40-38.

Zalmanson and Feldeine scored to bump the lead up to 45-38 forcing Rishon coach Guy Goodes to call time less than two minutes into the third quarter. Noam Dovrat drained a triple from the right side, Oz Blayzer scored one from the left but Bar Timor and Deividis Sirvydas drilled a 3-pointer to keep Jerusalem in the lead 57-49 with three minutes left in the frame. Braimoh and Levi added buckets but Harrison hit a half court Hail Mary for Rishon, however, the host’s stayed in front 63-52 after thirty minutes of action.

Feldeine and Levi found the bottom of the basket for Jerusalem while Darryl Monroe did the same for Rishon but Zalmanson kept scoring as the Reds held a 70-56 advantage with six minutes left in regulation. Nimrod Tishman, Monroe and Hankins tried to dent the Jerusalem lead but Holland, Feldeine and Timor all hit triples to wrap up the win.