Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel HaEmek 98-91 to become the first team to punch their ticket to the semifinals as they wrapped wrapped up their quarterfinal series in a 2-0 sweep. Jared Harper starred for the reds and sealed the game as time wound down to send Yonatan Alon’s team to the semis for the fifth consecutive season. On the other side, a strong performance from Gil Noyovich, wasn’t enough for the Gan Ner based squad which was eliminated. Jerusalem will now await the winner of the Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion series in the semifinals.

The game began well for Sharon Avrahami’s HaEmek side as they built up a double-digit lead in the second quarter behind Noyovich and Max Brooks to control the pace pf play. However, Jerusalem quickly fought back through Harper and Khadeen Carrington scoring points and managed to regain the lead 50-48 by halftime. Midway through the second quarter, the two teams received a total of five unsportsmanlike fouls due to an extracurricular incident on the floor.

In the second half, the visiting capital city squad took complete control as Roy Huber helped open up a double digit gap and maintained the lead through the balance of the final two quarters to record the victory. Harper scored 26 points, Huber added 14 points and Justin Smith scored 12 points in the win while Noyovitch scored 25 points, Cameron Henry put in 14 points and Nick Agenda scored 11 points in the loss.

Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon spoke about the win, “I wasn’t surprised as to their aggressiveness as we played the now for the third time in a row. We knew it was going to be a battle in a rough and tumble game and that’s exactly what it was.”

The game MVP Jared Harper shared his thoughts on the victory, “We played against a tough opponent and that’s how it’s been every time we’ve faced them this season. This is the first step toward our goal in the playoffs. I don’t care who we get in the semifinals, I want to win the championship and we’ll prepare as well as possible for any opponent. We can win it all. There were ups and downs throughout the season, but what matters is right now.”

Roy Huber added, “We played against a good team and I’m happy that we stayed calm even when they had momentum. The goal is the championship. Last year we felt it was ours, but I’m sure it’s going to be a tough series. In any case, we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.”