Israel played host to Portugal on Day Two of the FIBA Under-18 Challenger Tournament in Tel Aviv and moved their record up to 2-0 after cruising to a 102-67 victory.
Once again Ron Zipper was spectacular early to get Israel rolling with 19 points, while Adam Scherbakov shot lights out going 6/10 from downtown good for 24 points to seal the deal over the second half.
Ofek Gol who added 11 points and 6 assists spoke about the victory followed the game, “We played Portugal twice already and we talked about tactics going into this matchup. I’m satisfied that we were able to play aggressively like the coaching staff wanted us to. We played together and I’m happy we won.”
The Hapoel Tel Aviv point guard didn’t want to take credit for his fine play and deflected that onto the squad’s effort, “It’s us as a team and I’m nit going to discuss my points and personal game. I’m happy we have two wins out of two games and I hope this run will continue against France.”
Gol also spoke about Ron Zipper’s solid performances as well as Adam Scherbakov’s game play so far this tournament, “I’m excited for him. This is his first campaign and he’s a great player and I see a bright fire ahead dor him. Adam’s a good friend and a great shooter. I happy for him that his shots went in and that he gained confidence as the game went on.”
Finally, having fans in the stands is big boost for the Blue & White explained Gol, “It’s a great feeling and I’m so happy this tourney is here in Israel as well as having the fans come out to see us play. I hope that we will win three more games and win this competition.”
Ron Zipper picked up where he left off last game as the forward provided lethal shooting from the outside to get Israel rolling in the first quarter to go up 16-14 after ten minutes of play. Adam Scherbakov provided the spark to open the second quarter while Ofek Gol picked up points as well to bump up the Blue & White’s lead to 47-28 at halftime.
Oren Aharoni’s squad continued to press the pace as Zipper drilled home a pair of triples while Avner Dror, Yoav Berman and Gol scored as well to give Israel a 69-48 advantage after thirty minutes of play.
The hosts kept scoring at will as the final frame got underway with Ben Maman, Yuval Levin, Ido Menchel and Scherbakov all getting onto the stat sheet as Israel ran away with the 35-point win.
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