Curtis Jerrells spoke to the Sports Rabbi exclusively about tonight’s game against Kiryat Gat, Jason Siggers and his performance against Maccabi for Gilboa/Galil, the differences between the various leagues he has played in as well as what aspect the team will be focusing on going into the playoffs:

“Ultimately we did a good job on the defensive end against Haifa and coach has been really preaching that to us. We are going to score points and we have a lot of guys that can score in different ways but our defense is going to be the focus going into the playoffs.”

About tonight’s opponent Kiryat Gat and why they’ve won two games on a row over Herzliya and Eilat:
“I think it’s a result of guys coming in there and not being focused on defense, there are a lot of good scorers in this league. If you can stop those guys you are going to score enough points to win the game.”

On Jason Siggers and other foreigners in the league:
“He is a guy that has been making big shots all year long. But the key is if you defend those guys early on, then the game isn’t even going to be close. If you give teams like that a chance then you give them confidence. There are good players around here and it’s a good scoring league then that’s what happens.”

How does the Israeli league compare to other leagues?
“The Russian rule makes you need the domestic guys to play big games and big minutes if you want to have a chance to compete. The foreigners also have to contribute as well. At the end of the day it’s a very competitive league and when you have teams like Jerusalem and Maccabi coming in to play then you are going to get huge games from the other team’s players. You can’t take guys lightly. We just have to keep focusing on our defense.”

How about the Jerrells T-Shirts?
“The sales are doing okay, I wanted to do something for the fans and get the fans involved.”