Hapoel Jerusalem downed a pesky Manresa in Spain 90-85 in overtime to finish the regular season group stage with a 3-3 record and earn home court advantage against Prometey in the best of 3 Play In series for the right to advance to the Round of 16. Retin Obasohan and Suleiman Briamoh’s play throughout the 45 minutes proved to be critical for Yotam Halperin’s team while Jalen Adams and Adam Ariel’s timely scoring cancelled out Sylvain Francisco’s 22 points for the Reds.

Obasohan led the way with 19 points and 12 assists, Braimoh led all scorers with 22 points while Jalen Adams and Adam Ariel each scored 15 points each in the win. Jerusalem will now face Prometey from the Ukraine and welcome a number of familiar faces back to the Holy Land beginning with their Israeli head coach Ronen Ginzburg. D’Angelo Harrison, Chris Dowe and DJ Kennedy will also return to Israel after having played in the league at various stages over the past decade.

Jerusalem will have a full squad for the upcoming series, including newcomers Noam Dovrat and John Egbunu who were unable to play in the Manresa game since the original game date was scheduled before the players had signed with the Reds and had been delayed due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the Spanish team a couple of weeks ago.

“I’m proud of the players and I think it was one of the best games in the Champions League,” Halperin said following the game. “I am proud of them not just because we didn’t have a full roster and that we came here and won the game, but because they fought all the way from the first second until the end. We need to remember that we are still on our way and all we did here was get home court advantage.”

The game MVP Retin Obasohan also reflected on the victory, “It was a battle and we had two teams that were playing for bragging rights and a lot to do with the season going forward. I have to give all my teammates the most credit and everyone on the staff. We all came here to duke it out. I’m proud of everybody in the organization as this was a huge win for us especially as to how we began the Champions League.”

Suleiman Braimoh and Retin Obasohan helped Hapoel Jerusalem run all over Manresa in the first quarter as Luke Maye and Sylvain Francisco tried to keep the score close but the Reds grabbed a 28-22 lead after ten minutes of play. Francisco couldn’t miss while also facilitating the offense in the second quarter as Dani Perez and Chima Moneke scored as well while Willy Workman and Jalen Adams tried to keep Yotam Halperin’s team close but fell behind 49-43 at halftime.

Adams, Obasohan and Adam Ariel vaulted Jerusalem into a third quarter lead but Juampi Vaulet, Maye and a late triple by Francisco helped Pedro Martinez’s team to go back in front 64-63 after thirty minutes of action.

Braimoh opened the fourth quarter with a layup, while Itay Segev and Adams also scored but veteran Rafa Martinez drilled home a triple to know the score up at 71-71 with 5:03 remaining in regulation time. Ariel went from deep while Adams and Braimoh added points but Moneke hit a turn around jumper and Francisco dialed up long distance yet again to draw the hosts even at 78-78 as the game headed into overtime.

Braimoh and Obasohan once again led the way to begin the extra session and Ariel dialed up long distance to notch the win and earn home court advantage in the Play In best of 3 series against Prometey from the Ukraine.

In Israeli league play, Hapoel Tel Aviv ran away with a 97-64 victory over Hapoel Eilat to win their fourth league game in a row. The Reds grabbed a 43-36 lead at the half thanks to fine play by J’Covan Brown and JP Tokoto while the same Brown continued to pour in points along with James Young in the second half to cruise to the 33-point win. Young led all scorers with 23 points, Brown added 21 points and 6 assists while JP Tokoto chipped in with 12 points. Zuf Ben Moshe was the Eilat high scorer with 15 points and Justin Patton added 14 points in the loss.