Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion defeated Hapoel Eilat 87-85 on Monday night in a dramatic Winner Cup game at Beit Maccabi. In their first official game of the season, Guy Kaplan’s Rishon Le’Zion came out on top after a thriller in which the lead changed hands several times. Chauncey Jenkins starred with 25 points, 19 of them in the first half, including a monster dunk, but unfortunately fouled out with five fouls. That was when Ron Zipper stepped up.

The 23-year-old guard, who saw limited playing time last season at LSU, bounced back from a scoreless first half by pouring in 13 points after the break, including a trio of 3-pointers. Most importantly, Zipper hit a triple in the final minute of the fourth quarter. After Eilat’s Bryant Crawford (13 points) tied the game with a three of his own, Zipper drove to the basket, drew a foul in the final seconds and calmly knocked down both free throws. Eilat, coached by Oren Aharoni, was unable to score on its final possession.

“It’s very, very fun, especially after the way I started the game, when I wasn’t really involved and wasn’t in the game,” Zipper told Sports Rabbi after the game about the decisive plays. “I’m happy that we managed to raise our energy in the second half and really finish it the way we needed to.”

It may still be early, but Rishon Le’Zion showed flashes of being a special and athletic team.

“I think that beyond that, there’s very good chemistry here,” Zipper said. “We’re very good friends even after practice and before practice and that’s really important. There’s a lot of talent here and I think we’re going to have a really special season.”

Zipper received a warm welcome from the Rishon Le’Zion fans, who even sang him a player song inspired by the Israeli children’s song “Mikhaela Aleyza” (“Cheerful Choir”), with the similarity between the words “Tzip Tzip” and “Zipper” clearly influencing their choice. Among the lyrics, the fans sang: “And everyone who heard said, Ron Zipper is a warrior.”

The sharp shooter spoke about his quick connection with the crowd, “I’m very happy. It’s a lot of fun. This is why I play — for these energies, for this atmosphere. It’s really fun.”

Zipper, who starred for Hapoel Be’er Sheva in his final season in Israel before heading to college, joined Rishon Le’Zion this summer as the team’s leading Israeli player.

“It’s very exciting. This is what I dreamed of, to make an impact and really be an important player on the team.”

Zipper also explained what he took away from his college season, “To deal with difficult moments, even when things aren’t going well or when I’m playing less. I kept working hard and believing in myself, and now I’m reaping the rewards.”

Rishon Le’Zion also received 16 points from Trey King, 15 from V.J. King, 7 from Nathan Cota, 6 from Josh Freund, 3 from Maor Nakarshvitz and 2 from Quey Grant. Yaron Goldman and Or Cornelius also saw action.

For Eilat, Javonte Hawkins scored 16 points, James Dickey had 15, Kendall McCollum added 14, Tzuf Ben Moshe scored 10, Yuval Schneiderman had 7, Aaron Wheeler 6, and Daniel Rosenbaum and Ben Ruina each scored 2.