Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem are both back in EuroCup action on Wednesday night as the Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad will be playing in Lithuania against Wolves (18:30 Israel time) while Yonatan Alon’s charges will tipoff against Lietkabelis (20:30 Israel time) in Bulgaria.

Hapoel Tel Aviv will look to shake off their Derby loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv and continue it’s fine momentum in continental competition after having knocked off Joventut Badalona last week when they face the 5-5, 6th place Wolves team and improve on their own 6-4 record which sees them currently in 3rd place in Division A.

“We are playing against a very athletic and energetic team,” Itoudis said. “This produces a lot of points through their athleticism, passion and aggression. The Wolves play very good and organized basketball and have an effective passing game. We are at a stage where we are trying to implement and execute new things, but also need to achieve results. Unfortunately, we are dealing with Pat Beverley’s injury, but we are motivated and focused enough to fight.”

Oz Blayzer added, “We are coming into the game against Wolves after some very challenging days, but we are determined to move forward and continue the positive momentum in the EuroCup. Everyone knows exactly what they need to do and we will fight to come back with a victory.”

Over at Hapoel Jerusalem, the capital city Reds are coming off a brutal defeat at the hands of Valencia in EuroCup play that dropped their record to 7-3 in Division B and will now look to try and get back onto the winning track against Leitkabelis in Bulgaria.

“We are playing against a team whose quality is not yet reflected in the Eurocup standings,” Alon said about the 8th place 2-7 side. “There a team with a lot of tools and talent. We want to continue playing our basketball and continue to establish ourselves at the top of the league and our goal is to show toughness from the first moment, control the pace of the game and come home with a victory. This will be another game that we will unfortunately play in front of empty stands and we are looking forward to returning to play in front of our fans.”

Israeli big man Gabi Chachashvili added, “It is very important for us to get back on the winning track in the EuroCup and continue to establish ourselves at the top of the league. We are expecting a difficult game against an opponent that plays quality basketball and our goal is to come home with a victory that will do good to the hearts of our fans who will be watching us from afar.”