Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan defeated Hapoel Haifa 96-81 at Zisman Arena in Ramat Gan on Thursday night for a victory in its first game in Group B of the pre-season Winner Cup tournament, with Haifa falling to 1-1 in group play.

Haifa started out the game stronger with new signing Tyler Bey’s 10 points and Ramat Gan’s 5 team turnovers giving Haifa a 30-23 after 10 minutes. Bey and the team continued to dominate at the start of the second quarter, but Ramat Gan, through strong play from new signing Amin Stevens and captain Adam Ariel with 10 and 7 points respectively in the first half clawed back to get within a basket at the main break, with Haifa ahead 47-44.

Ramat Gan came out of the halftime break with the aggressive finesse which was their trademark last season, holding Haifa to only 34 points for the half. Ariel showed his leadership not only with his professional attitude but also on the scoreboard, adding another 9 points in the third quarter alone, while Stevens, Kendale McCullum and Roi Huber added 11 and 10 points respectively in the second half, with Ramat Gan ultimately winning by 15 points in a solid first outing for the preseason.

For Ramat Gan, Stevens (20 points, 8 rebounds and 1 steal), Ariel (17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist), McCullum (16 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal) and Drew Crawford (12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) led the scoring, while Haifa’s top scorers were Bey (22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals), Jaylen Johnson (12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists), Deshon Taylor (11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists) and Daniel Rosenbaum (10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists).

“It took us time to get into the game,” Ramat Gan coach Shmulik Brenner said after the win. “We wanted to make big plays too much and it got us to a position which wasn’t so good. I said to the players, over time we will learn to get into games. But it’s more interesting to me to see how we respond to situations where things aren’t good. So that was good for us in terms of preparation.”

“First, I want to thank Ramat Gan and the League who changed the time of the game because of my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah tomorrow, so thank you – it’s not taken for granted,” Hapoel Haifa coach Elad Hassin said after the game. “It was a good game. The tournament is a respected tournament and it’s like an official game. There were lots of good things on the one hand, but there were also some bad things. I felt that well fell off a bit in the second half.”

While overall the game was positive for Ramat Gan, the downside was the injury early in the second quarter to import Roberto Gallinat – who had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in a little over 12 minutes of play – after which he didn’t return to the court. But the team is hopeful that he won’t need to spend a significant amount of time off the court.

“At the moment the diagnosis is that it’s a sprain,” Brenner said of Gallinat’s injury. It’s not clear how serious it is. He’s going to have an MRI tomorrow. He was positive in the locker room and so we’re hoping for the best.”

“Teams that play back-to-back within 48 hours, it’s a little difficult especially at this stage of the season and even with respect to injuries there’s a risk,” Hassin said. “Thankfully, no one was injured for us. I wish a speedy recovery to Gallinat, but they’re a good team and there is lots to see and learn from the game. We will take the next week and learn and continue to slowly build the team.”

“I felt like we had a slow start on defense and that caused them to get an early lead,” Stevens said after the game. “We pretty much just banded together and told each other that we need to play much harder. We have to trust each other more and as coach said in the locker room, the last 25 minutes, we came together and I felt like we started playing more winning basketball and being tougher on defense.”

“We started off good, but I felt like we let up,” Bey summed up the game for Haifa. “We have to keep playing, learn from our mistakes – including myself – we need to help each other, chasing each other on defense and talking. We didn’t do any of that today. Just the little things, I feel like we didn’t execute any of that today. We let up, especially in the fourth quarter.”

“It feels great, I probably wouldn’t play for any other coach out here,” Bey said of being reunited with Hassin, who was his coach at Nes Ziona during the 2022-23 season. “This guy, we have a good relationship. I enjoy just playing for him and just playing for Haifa, it’s an opportunity to get better. I’m just trying to showcase and win games, that’s what it’s all about.”

Naturally in basketball there is a changeover in rosters from season to season and this has especially been the case in Israel with the outbreak of the war at the beginning of last season impacting roster changes for 2024-25. One of the constants for Ramat Gan is veteran captain Adam Ariel. Both Brenner and Stevens were asked about his impact on the team.

“I don’t like to speak about individuals,” Brenner started. “Adam is important to us, as is everyone else who was here from last season who know the group and what’s critical for us. In this respect, Adam is very important. Beyond the things that you see, everyone knows Adam Ariel with his shooting, Adam does many things which don’t stand out as much. For example, Adam led us last year in offensive fouls that he drew. Actions speak louder than words and in this respect he is critical to us and we’re very happy that we have him on the team.”

“It’s pretty good, I don’t think I’ve had an Israeli of this status on my team,” Stevens said of playing with Ariel. “To have guys like him and other great Israelis around, he’s probably the most experienced teammate that I’ve had since I’ve been in Israel, so it’s good to be a part of it.”

In the other Group B Winner Cup games this week:
Bnei Herzliya defeated Elizur Netanya 84-79. Xavier Sneed (23 points), Chris Silva (15 points) and John Meeks (13 points) led the scoring for Herzliya, while Roy Paretsky (22 points) and Shavon Coleman (13 points) led the scoring for Netanya.

Hapoel Haifa defeated Elizur Netanya 81-69. Tyler Bey (25 points), Matt Coleman III (18 points) and Amit Gershon (15 points) led the scoring for Haifa, while Drew Pember (13 points) and Shachar Doron (12 points) led the scoring for Natanya.

In Group A Winner Cup games this week:
Ironi Kiryat Ata defeated Hapoel Beer Sheva 85-66. Akia Putt (18 points), Raz Adam (13 points) and Yariv Amiram (11 points) led the scoring for Ata, while Iverson Molinar (24 points) and Neta Segal (12 points) led the scoring for Beer Sheva.

Hapoel Holon defeated Hapoel Afula 75-67. Elijah Mitrou-Long (17 points) led the scoring for Holon, while Sandy Cohen (15 points), JP Tokoto (12 points) and Justyn Mutts (11 points) led the scoring for Afula.

Ironi Kiryat Ata defeated Hapoel Afula 91-67. Silvio De Sousa (23 points), Darryl Morsell (13 points), Yariv Amiram (13 points) and Raz Adam (12 points) led the scoring for Ata, while Justyn Mutts (21 points) and JP Tokoto (13 points) led the scoring for Afula.

In Group C Winner Cup games this week:
Hapoel Gilboa Galil defeated Ironi Nes Ziona 85-66. Emmanuel Nzekwesi (15 points), Ish El-Amin (14 points) and Tal Peled (12 points) led the scorers for Gilboa Galil, while Yair Kravitz (16 points) and Ricky Lindo (11 points) led the scoring for Nes Ziona.

Hapoel Galiol Elion defetated Hapoel Gilboa Galil 87-63. Marcus Carr (15 points), Lennard Freeman (14 points), Ahmed Hill and Ron Cohen (11 points each) led the scoring for Galil Elion, while Jon Davis and Tal Peled (12 points each) led the scoring for Gilboa Galil.

Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Ironi Nes Ziona 94-84. Justin Smith (17 points), Khadeen Carringotn (16 points), Speedy Smith (16 points), Austin Wiley (13 points) and Jared Harper (11 points) led the scoring for Jerusalem, while Darnell Edge (20 points), Bryce Brown (17 points) and Ricky Lindon (15 points) led the scoring for Nes Ziona.

The schedule for the upcoming Winner Cup group games is set forth below:
Ironi Nes Ziona vs Hapoel Galil Elion (Group C, Saturday September 14 at 21:00)
Hapoel Galil Elion vs Hapoel Jerusalem (Group C, Sunday September 15 at 21:00)
Hapoel Beer Sheva vs Hapoel Afula (Group A, Monday September 16 at 18:30)
Bnei Herzliya vs Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan (Group B, Monday September 16 at 20:30)
Hapoel Holon vs Ironi Kiryat Ata (Group A, Tuesday September 17 at 18:30)
Elizur Netanya vs Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan (Group B, Wednesday September 18 at 18:40)
Hapoel Jerusalem vs Hapoel Galil Elion (Group C, Wednesday September 18 at 18:45)
Bnei Herzliya vs Hapoel Haifa (Group B, Thursday September 19 at 20:00)
Hapoel Beer Sheva vs Hapoel Holon (Group C, Friday September 20 at 14:00)

The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, which will take place the following week from Saturday September 21 until Tuesday September 24. Last year’s Winner League finalists, champions Maccabi Tel Aviv and runners-up Hapoel Tel Aviv, automatically qualified for the quarterfinals. The semifinals will take place in Holon on Friday September 27 and Saturday September 28, with the final to also be in Holon, to be held on Saturday October 5.