Hapoel Holon and Hapoel Tel Aviv get back to their respective European competitions when they take to the court against Rio Breogan and Joventut Badalona respectively on Wednesday night.
The purples enter their third game in Basketball Champions League action with a 2-0 record after having clipped Breogan 84-79 last week at their temporary home floor in Riga, Latvia and will once again looked to turn the trick this time in Spain at 21:30 Israel time. Nick Johnson who recently signed with the team will be available for this game as he will make his Holon debut.

Ahead of the tipoff, head coach Amit Sherf and captain Niv Misgav spoke about the club’s upcoming challenge.

“We are looking forward to our second game in a week against Breogan,” Sherf began. “Both teams now know each other and will make specific adjustments for this upcoming game. We will have to do a better job on defense and rebounding in order to control the pace of the game. Fortunately, Nick will be available and he will add toughness, experience and will help with the ball.”

The bench boss continued, “We are coming into the game, exactly one month after we left the country for the start of our European tour and we will do everything to return with a victory. The distance away from home has been difficult for us, but it also helps us remember that we are playing for something bigger than us right now.”

Misgav, also commented on the game and the period the team is going through, “We are going through a very difficult and challenging time. We have been out of the country for quite some time now, while our thoughts and hearts are in Israel with the families of the victims and the injured as well as our families and friends.”

“On the professional side, we have a great group of guys that have all helped us get through this period together, play the games, give everything and do the best that we can. We will be playing a strong team that we know very well and a team that gave us a lot of trouble last game. The staff made the adjustments and worked with us on what needed to be improved. We hope to come back with a win for our fans, who we miss very much.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv will “host” Badalona (8pm Israel time) at their home away from home in Belgrade, Serbia as they will look to get back onto the winning track after having fallen twice in a row against Paris and Prometey after beginning the season with a perfect 4-0 record.

Head Coach Danny Franco looked ahead to the game, “We are preparing for another challenging game, against a quality team. It is true that this is our “home” game, but when we are far from Israel without our fan base it is “home” on paper. I am sure that despite the situation the players will do their best and give everything possible in order to get back onto the winning track and make those watching back in Israel happy.”

Xavier Munford also spoke about the upcoming clash, “After two losses we have a chance to recover and move towards the top of the group. I believe that we will know how to make the corrections that are necessary from the past two games and notch the win against a quality opponent.”