Hapoel Jerusalem were embarrassed 76-65 by STAL Ostrow as the hosts ran away in the fourth quarter with a 14-0 run to notch the win. The loss sets the Reds back with an 0-3 record as Oren Amiel’s team will need a minor miracle to advance in Basketball Champions League play.

Jerusalem came out strong and took an early 22-11 lead after the first quarter going 4/10 from beyond the arc with strong play by Jalen Adams. However, the club went ice cold over the final thirty minutes going only 3/33 the rest of the way from deep as STAL ripped off a 16-0 run to begin the fourth quarter to cruise to the win.

Kobi Simmons led the way with 20 points and Michael Young added 14 points in the win. Jalen Adams led Jerusalem with 19 points and Retin Obasohan chipped in with 9 points in the loss.

“There was a couple of minutes where they broke us down in the 3rd and 4th,” Amiel began. “They were just better than us most of the game and they deserved the win. We will try to play better basketball”

Willy Workman also weighed in after the loss, “Tough game for us turnovers hurt us in the second half and our percentages were not good. It was our responsibility to do so as the players and we will pick up the pieces and do it next game.”

Hapoel Jerusalem received timely shooting from Jalen Adams with a pair of triples to get the game underway while Amit Gershon and Adam Ariel also hit their shots form beyond the arc as Willy Workman scored a pair of buckets inside to give the Reds a 22-11 lead after ten minutes.

STAL Ostrów came alive in the second quarter as James Florence and Trey Drechsel filled the basket for the hosts while Amit Gershon and Itay Segev were able to keep Oren Amiel’s squad in front 36-34 at halftime.

James Palmer and Kobi Simmons began to pour in the points for the Igor Milicic’s squad to jump ahead of the Reds, but Jalen Adams and Retin Obasohan chipped away at the lead to head into the final frame down by just 2-points, 54-52.

However, Amiel’s squad fell apart at the start of the fourth quarter as the hosts went on a 14-0 run thanks to Simons and Michael Young to cruise to the 76-65 victory.

In FIBA Europe Cup action, Hapoel Eilat sunk Trefl Sopot 88-85 as Bryon Allen drained 3 free throws at the end of the game to secure the victory. Allen led the way with 22 points, Shaheed Davis added 14 points and 7 boards in his debut, while Zuf Ben Moshe scored 14 points in the win. The victory moves Ariel Beit Halachmi’s team to 2-1.

Hapoel Gilboa Galil fell to Saratov 102-62 in a game that was never close as the Israeli squad played with no imports in the game. Yotam Hanochi scored 21 points and Noam Avivi added 13 points in the loss. The defeat drops Guy Kaplan’s record to 0-3.