Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel HaEmek 65-59 to remain unbeaten in Israel League play after grinding out the tough victory as Sasa Obradovic’s squad improved to 5-0 following a tense, hard-fought contest. Second-chance opportunities proved crucial in securing the home win as the hosts struggled to find a consistent offensive rhythm. Kenny lofton Jr. scored 13 points and Jaleen Smith dropped 11 points in the win while CJ Elleby scored 15 points in the loss.

Despite the win, Sasa Obradovic was far from satisfied with his team’s performance, “I wasn’t happy at all, despite the win. This is the fourth consecutive league game in which we’ve played this poorly. We consider ourselves a good team, and we feel that we can win every game, but we can’t keep giving our opponents a head start. It won’t always work out this way.”

, Hapoel HaEmek’s interim head coach, expressed his disappointment at the narrow defeat, “It’s a huge feeling of a missed opportunity. We came into a tough venue to face a team that hasn’t lost yet and there’s a reason for that. I’m really proud of the fight and togetherness we showed and of the fact that even during such a difficult period, we aren’t giving up and continue to compete.”

Nes Ziona cruised to a convincing 111-81 win over Kiryat Ata for their third win of the campaign and first home victory of the season. Paul Corsaro’s team took control from the opening minutes, building a commanding 65-38 lead by halftime. Kiryat Ata occasionally managed to trim the deficit, but never seriously threatened the hosts, who remained firmly in control throughout the contest and extended their lead to as many as 38 points. Josh Christopher scored 26 points, Jacob Wiley added 24 points Noam Dovrat chipped in with 17 points in the win as David Green and Jordan Cohen each scored 14 points in the loss.

Head Coach Paul Corsaro reflected on the victory, “We had a lot of fun. We really appreciate our fans and the atmosphere was great. We are always competing against ourselves. We need to meet the standards we set for ourselves, regardless of who we are playing. I think we took a big step forward as a team.”