Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem will play critical EuroCup games on the final day of the regular season as Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad visits Ulm and their Israeli star Ben Saraf (Wednesday 20:00 Israel time) and Yonatan Alon’s team “host” Turk Telekom (Wednesday 20:30) in Samokov, Bulgaria.

The Tel Aviv Reds enter their contest in Germany with an 11-6 record and in 3rd place in Division A will look to take the win and leapfrog Gran Canaria into 2nd place where they will automatically punch their ticket to the quarterfinal round and skip having to play in the elimination round. For Ulm who are 9-8 and in 6th place, they need a win to guarantee a place in the postseason as Wolves have the identical record and are on the outside looking in at 7th spot.

Attending the game in Ulm will be 30 IDF soldiers who were injured in battle along with bereaved families and reservists thanks to owner Ofer Yannay.

Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis spoke about the upcoming challenge, “We are facing a quality team, which defeated us in our first meeting this season. They are characterized by their high pace of play, they have quality players, pick and roll players, post-ups, they press and are very competitive throughout all stages of the season. This game is very important for both teams and we are expecting a tough game and we are preparing for it with the utmost seriousness and focus. This game will give us an excellent perspective on our ability at this stage of the season.”

Antonio Blakeney added, “We are coming to compete and give it our all. This is a big game for us and it is also important for Ulm. They need the victory just as much as we do, so we have to stay focused and be 100% ready.”

Marcus Bingham returned to training after having been out for about a month while Patrick Beverley isn’t with the team after having been suspended until further notice.

Over at Hapoel Jerusalem, the capital city Reds will be trying to also advance directly to the quarterfinals with a win over Turk and their former star guard Speedy Smith. Yonatan Alon’s team is in 2nd place at 10-7 but they are one of 4 teams with the identical record and a defeat may see them tumble down the standings in Division B.

“We’re getting the guys back on their feet, trying to reinvigorate them,” Alon said. “We’re going into this game with the goal of stopping Turk, who are a very good team. Both Yovel Zoosman and Jared Harper who missed last game due to illness are feeling better and so is Justin Smith. All three will be up 100%.

Austin Wiley who just returned from injury after a number of months on the shelf added, “We’re continuing our approach this season, focusing on each game individually and preparing accordingly. We’ll be ready. I feel good and happy to be back with the team and on the court. It took time, but I took advantage of it to be with my family. Now I’m just happy to be back playing basketball.”