Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Hapoel Holon 67-62 to notch their second win of the season after having fallen in dramatic fashion last week to Hapoel Galil Elyon. J’Covan Brown’s clutch shooting to go along with the Reds high energy and tough defense while out-rebounding the Purples 55-28 helped Danny Franco’s squad to the victory. Brown scored 15 points to lead Tel Aviv as James Young added 12 points and JP Tokoto chipped in with 11 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Michale Kyser was Maurizio Buscaglia’s high scorer as Chris Johnson added 10 points in the loss.

“There was a lot of desire last game but there was a lot of pressure to want to win and they were thinking too much,” Franco began. “We put in a very hard week of work and the fans came and filled up the arena. We now have to come back down to earth and look ahead.”

“It was a tough game and we didn’t play well because Hapoel Tel Aviv put incredible pressure on the floor,” Buscaglia said. “We scored 62 points and had 27 assists 27 but Hapoel had 55 rebounds to our 28. We missed many open shots and I could have done a better job.”

The game’s MVP J’Covan Brown also reflected on the victory, “This was a very important win and we needed it. We had to battle and that’s what we did. I look at myself as the leader and I took the shots that I has to take and I have to credit my teammates as this was a time where we needed to show character.”

J’Covan Brown opened the game with a triple for Hapoel Tel Aviv but Rafi Menco helped Hapoel Holon take a 12-8 lead after ten minutes of play. Steven Gray and Bar Timor traded baskets as the second quarter got underway while Dewan Hernandez also scored for the Reds, but points by Menco and a 3-pointer from Niv Misgav put Maurizio Buscaglia’s squad in front 28-23 at halftime.

Brown began the third quarter with points from downtown, JP Tokoto added buckets for Tel Aviv while Michale Kyser and Niv Misgav scored for Holon, however, James Young also found the bottom of the basket for the Reds to tie the game up at 47-47 after thirty minutes of action.

Tokoto and Zalmanson scored for Hapoel, Mark Ogden and Guy Pnini from deep countered for Holon to begin the fourth quarter while Bar Timor went from downtown to give regular Reds a slight 56-54 lead midway through the frame. Kyser and Timor traded buckets, Brown dialled up long distance, scored an acrobatic layup and then sent Young a cross court pass to jam the ball and put the exclamation mark on a 67-62 victory.

Nes Ziona nipped Hapoel Beer Sheva 96-91 in overtime to win their third consecutive game after orchestrating a 17-point second half comeback to tie the game up in order to send it to the extra session. Following a 40-38 forts half in favor of Rami Hadar’s southern Reds, his team broke away in the third quarter thanks to stellar shooting by Cody Demps and inside play from Dererk Pardon. However, Frank Bartley and Diante Garrett helped Lior Lubin’s team knot the game up at 78-78 at the end of regulation time as Nimrod Tishman hit a clutch triple while Ike Nwamu along with the aforementioned Bartley and Garrett all hit free throws down the stretch to take the win.

Frank Bartley reflected on the victory, “Obviously a big time win for us. We showed a lot of mental toughness out there tonight. It took us being down 20 to finally start playing with more energy and effort. We know we can’t play like that every game but it was a good test for us. It showed a lot of growth from where the team was in preseason. We’re a good team when we play with extra effort. We have to keep this up and keep finding ways to win tough games!”