Hapoel Jerusalem dunked all over Hapoel Tel Aviv 94-76 as the capital city Reds used an all-around attack to win by 18-points. Newcomer KC Rivers, Willy Workman and Retin Obasohan helped Yotam Halperin’s squad jump out to a quick lead as James Young, JP Tokoto and J’Covan Brown tried to keep Danny Franco’s team in the game but Jalen Adams made sure to send the hosts into halftime with a 50-37 lead.

Brown suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and didn’t return which left Franco’s squad short handed the rest of the way as Suleiman Braimoh took advantage of the situation to score from downtown and from the inside which included a poster dunk on Josh Owens coming off of the baseline as Egbunu also found points down tech stretch to take the victory.

Suleiman Braimoh ended the game with 20 points (4/4 from 3), 7 rebounds and 4 assists, John Egbunu added 20 points and 9 boards while Retin Obasohan scored 15 points and KC Rivers chipped in with 13 points in the win. James Young paced Tel Aviv with 21 points and JP Tokoto added 13 points in the loss.

“We defended better than Monday’s game against Herzliya,” Halperin said. “We were there for most of the game in our aggressiveness and we did a good job on that end. My heart goes out to J’Covan after he got hurt n the second quarter as he means a lot to this club as well.”

“This was a tough road game,” Franco explained. “We were a bit complacent at the start of the game and we let Jerusalem get into their rhythm. They were able to gain confidence and scored at high percentages. Losing Brown was tough in the middle of the game especially against Jerusalem which is his former team.”

Willy Workman who scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds also reflected on the win, “This game was a continuation of a process about getting better all of the time. We did some things better that we worked on in practice and this was the most fun when everyone contributes and hits their shots.

KC Rivers made his first start as a member of Hapoel Jerusalem with a quick 5 points to open the first quarter while Willy Workman and Retin Obasohan also added points to cancel out JP Tokoto and James Young’s efforts for Hapoel Tel Aviv as the capital city Reds grabbed a 25-17 lead after ten minutes of play.

Amit Gershon went from deep and John Egbunu scored inside while the trio of J’Covan Brown, Tokoto and Young continued to score to get the second quarter underway but Yotam Halperin’s squad stayed in front 37-29 midway through the period. Rivers nailed a triple, Workman scored as well, Young and Bar Timor countered for Danny Franco’s team but Jalen Adams hit a pair from beyond the arc to send the hosts into halftime holding a 50-37 advantage.

Rivers began the third quarter with a triple and a deuce and Suleiman Briamoh added a bucket while Young, Tokoto and Idan Zalmanson scored for Tel Aviv as Jerusalem continued to lead 61-45 midway through the frame. Obasohan dialled up long distance, Young did the same at the other end while Owens also found points, Braimoh went from deep while Egbunu and Braimoh out on an aerial display to give Jerusalem a 74-58 lead date thirty minutes of action.

Adams and Obasohan continued to find the basket, Timor scored for Tel Aviv but Braimoh put down a monster dunk, Egbunu scored again and yet again in the paint as Jerusalem ran Tel Aviv out of the Arena.