Hapoel Tel Aviv eased past Dubai 85-60 as Antonio Blakeney along with Vasilije Micic scored in bunches in the second half to make up a 5-point halftime deficit and win the game with style. The reds has a tough time early on as Jurica Golemac’s team used their size and physicality to take a 41-36 lead at halftime, however, Micic and Blakeney took the game over in the third quarter and outscored the visitors by 19-points as they went on their way to the double-digit victory.

Blakeney scored 25 points, Micic added 19 points and Tai Odiase put in 11 points in the win while Filip Petrusev scored 13 points and Dwayne Bacon scored 11 points in the loss.

“This was an important win after the two poor performances,” Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis said. “The defensive level was where we wanted it to be. In the second half we showed that we had an arsenal on the defensive end and keeping a talented team below 20-points says a lot as Dubai has a lot of ways to hurt you.”

“We didn’t show up in the second half both offensively and mentally,” Dubai Head Coach Jurica Golemac said. “We lost control of the offensive movement and this is what had happened in Madrid and we have to examine that. It wasn’t like how we played in the first half and we have to analyze that.”

Vaislije Micic scored from the outside and inside for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Awudu Abass and Filip Petrusev responded for Dubai, Mfiondu Kabengele out down a monster dunk, Elijah Bryant and Tai Odiase responded at the other end while Dwayne Bacon went from the outside and inside to give Dubai a 24-17 lead after ten minutes of play.

Antonio Blakeney scored a pair of baskets to begin the second quarter, Justin Anderson dialled up from long distance, Davis Bertans scored a layup, Blakeney kept up the hot shooting with a corner 3-ball, Kenan Kamenjas and Aleksa Avramovic responded while McKinley Wright found the basket to give Jurica Golemac’s team a 41-36 advantage at halftime.

Bryant, Johnathan Motley and Micic all opened the third quarter with points, Petrusev responded, Blakeney came back from deep, Micic kept filling the basket, Odiase scored on the inside, Kabengele answered for the visitors but a 3-point play by Blakeney as the period came to an end gave Dimitrios Itoudis’s team a 69-54 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Blakeney and Jones scored to get the fourth quarter underway, Kabengele scored at the other end as Jones and Blakeney kept putting the ball into the hoop as Hapoel cruised to the win.