Hapoel Gilboa Galil shocked Maccabi Tel Aviv 87-83 at Gan Ner as Sacha Killeya-Jones starred in the victory. The Galilee squad who were playing with only three foreigners were able to take down the defending champions with aggressive play, solid defense and responsible offense as Guy Kaplan’s club committed only 4 turnovers over the course of the 40 minutes to take the victory.

The yellow-and-blue led early on thanks to Keenan Evans and Jalen Reynolds but fine play by Killeya-Jones, Michael Brisker, London Perrantes and Or Cornelius with three triples helped keep the hosts within striking distance. Roman Sorkin tried to will Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s club to victory with key points down the stretch but Killeya-Jones and Yotam Hanochi put the Gilboa in the lead for good to take the well earned win.

Killeya-Jones checked in with a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, Brisker and Ronnie Harrell scored 15 points a piece while Perrantes added 14 points in the win. Sorkin led Maccabi with 16 points, Evans chipped in with 13 points and Reynolds had 12 points in the loss.

“I think that it was more than basketball this was a win for Haim Ohayon who passed away,” Gilboa coach Guy Kaplan explained. “This was a win that made us happy and it was symbolic for the entire region.”

“We were not day mentally to play a tough game even-though we tried to prepare for this,” Maccabi coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos explained. “We knew they would play tough against us and that many players were not concentrated. This is the reason we didn’t play good defense.”

Bnei Herzliya won their second game in a row as they downed Hapoel Eilat 86-79 in front of their home crowd. The hosts held the lead most of the way as five players scored in double digits while both Chinanu Onuaku and Andy Van Vliet each checked in with double-doubles to secure the 7-point win.

Onuanku finished the game with 21 points and 15 rebounds, Van Vliet added 17 points and 10 boards while Chris Babb scored 13 points in the win. Joaquin Szuchman had superb night for the Red Sea squad with 17 points and Bryon Allen added 14 points in the defeat.

“We’ve gotten off to a great start so far,” Chris Babb said following the win. “We still have a long ways to go and much to improve on, but I’m very proud of how we’ve started this season. As for Chinanu Onuaku’s performance, he’s been a force in the paint. Making big plays on offense and defense. He will continue to be a huge asset for us.”

Hapoel Holon dropped Nes Ziona 85-73 on the road to stay perfect early on in the season. After an even first half which saw Tim Soares and Diante Garrett keep the hosts hanging around, Maurizio Buscaglia’s squad was able to pull away in the third quarter thanks to stellar play by Chris Johnson, Rafi Menco and Joe Ragland to take the 12-point victory.

Both Johnson and Menco each scored 16 points while Joe Ragland scored 12 points and dished out 9 assists in the win. Soares with 19 points and Garrett with 18 paced Lior Lubin’s team.