“The players are locked in”

That’s how Dimitrios Itoudis ended his postgame press conference following Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 87-64 win at Gran Canaria in a contest that saw the Reds come out flying as they did as they pleased right form the get go to chalk up what was arguably their most dominating victory of their EuroCup campaign.

All cylinders were clicking for Hapoel from Jonathan Motley to Bar Timor and from Bruno Caboclo to Antonio Blakeney as the scoring came with ease but ultimately that was due to the club playing incredible defense from the tipoff and all the way through the entire 40 minutes.

The bench boss knows that this is going to be his team’s ticket going forward as the calendar turns into 2025 and the chances of the Reds having home court advantage later on in the competition will be very low.

“We knew that this was a huge task,” Itoudis said. “We prepared by coming a day early and we adjusted after a long flight. This matters a lot in our profession. We had a clear mind as to what we were going to do against Gran Canaria on the defensive end. We were patient and looked for the best possible shot and the team had a good flow.”

This is exactly what the Greek tactician had been waiting to see from his team as the pieces of his puzzle are really starting to fit into place nicely. Of course, he will still see how he’s going to use Patrick Beverley and Noam Yaacov who are both out with injuries but should be back very soon as the former has taken part in a partial practice and is ramping up to get back onto the court.

Hapoel plenty of tools in the box to go to that Blakeney, who almost led the team in scoring only checked into the game for the first time in the final frame and that is something Itoudis is well aware of as the depth of the Reds will be crucial for them over the upcoming six months or so.

“It’s good we are winning and there are things we have to develop and work on,” the bench boss said. “I told the guys that we deserved to win but we are still not there. In the Euroleague you have a round robin league and playoffs but this is more of a cup competition. There are a lot of things to work on and we will do so.”

Next up for Hapoel is a date at Hapoel Haifa in Israeli league action (Sunday 6:35pm) with the game being played in Netanya due to an event taking place in the Haifa arena and as usual, Itoudis is not going to take any game or any minute on the floor for granted, “We will be playing against a team that has a new coach and new ideas. We look forward to continuing to grow as a team, building the right chemistry and the right attitude. We are aware of the expected difficulties, but are ready for the challenge.”

They will be ready for the challenge that’s for sure and there is no reason to doubt one of the greatest coaches of our generation.