Hapoel Jerusalem downed Hapoel Holon 75-61 on the road thanks to terrific play from Jalen Adams and a magnificent game plan from head coach Yotam Halperin to even up their Israel Basketball semifinal series at 1-1.

The decisive game 3 is slated to take place on Thursday night back in the capital city. The Reds stymied Guy Goodes’s squad all game long with suffocating defense and intelligent lineups to go along with smart offensive possessions to notch the double-digit victory.

Jalen Adams was a one man wrecking crew for Jerusalem over the course of the first half while Rafi Menco tried to counter for Holon but the Reds defense kept the purples dynamic duo of Joe Ragland and Tyrus McGee at bay to take a 40-35 lead at halftime. Jerusalem’s defense continued to do the job in the third quarter while Itay Segev and John Egbunu controlled the pace of play as Retin Obasohan and Noam Dovrat scored down the stretch to polish off the win.

Adams led the way with 23 points, Dovrat added 14 points and Obasohan scored all of his 11 points in the final frame to take the victory. McGee scored 17 points and Menco chipped in with 10 points in the loss.

“It was clear that from the first seconds of the game that we were able to do what we wanted to and we were able to follow our game plan,” Jerusalem coach Yotam Halperin said. “To give up only 61 points to Holon shows that we can play defense. It’s not easy to win in this arena and I’m happy that we were able to do so twice this season.”

“Unfortunately it wasn’t our best game, but the atmosphere was amazing,” Holon coach Guy Goodes said. “Despite as good as the fans were they can’t score points and Jerusalem did a better job than us. They also went to the line much more than I would have liked. This was like Boston and Miami where each team won on the other ones court and hopefully that trend will continue on Thursday.”

Retin Obasohan reflected on the victory that sent the series to a do or die game three, “It was a tale of two halves and we were able to increase our intensity in the second half which has been the message we have had all season long. We knew we had to pick it up in the second half and we found the open man and we were able to finish off our plays.”

Michale Kyser also reflected on the game, “We started off pretty well but we were trailing the whole game and that’s the same thing that happened in Jerusalem for them. We just tried to play catch up the entire game. Their energy were better than ours and we have to focus on the next game on Thursday.”

Jalen Adams knocked down a corner 3-ball and added points for Hapoel Jerusalem while Michale Kyser scored a pair of buckets in the paint for Hapoel Holon to get the game off and running as the Reds held a 10-6 lead midway through the first quarter. Rafi Menco hit a 3-pointer, Itay Segev scored inside, Chris Johnson out down a dunk, Adams came back with a triple at the end of the shot clock, John Egbunu scored inside as Menco scored a layup just as the period came to an end but the Reds held a 17-16 lead after ten minutes of play.

KC Rivers scored off a Willy Workman miss, Menco went from deep and then form the inside, Suleiman Braimoh added a basket while Tyrus McGee dialled up long distance, Joe Ragland put in a layup as did Rivers to keep Yotam Halperin’s team in front 27-26 with 5:28 left in the first half. Adams put on a layup, Frederic Bourdillon scored a triple, Adams added another deuce, Noam Dovrat knocked down a 3-pointer while Bourdillon did the same yet again, Dovrat drove in for a layup but so did Ragland but Jerusalem kept the lead 40-35 at halftime.

Itay Segev scored the first field goal of the second half as he tipped in a basket and Egbunu dunked twice as Jerusalem opened up a 10-point 47-37 lead with 3:09 left in the frame. Johnson scored inside and Niv Misgav went from downtown to cut the lead down to 49-45 after thirty minutes of action.

McGee nailed a triple to begin the fourth quarter, Retin Obasohan who had been tasked for the majority of the game to play defense began going to the hoop and collecting foul shots and Adams drained a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 57-48 lead with 6:49 remaining in regulation time. McGee hit a 3-pointer, Ragland and McGee added points to get back into the game but Dovrat drilled home a corner 3-pointer and added a free throw to complete a 4-point play and Obasohan also went from deep to wrap up the win for the Reds and send the series back to Jerusalem all knotted up at one a piece.