Goodes' team won 73:79 and qualified for the next stage at the expense of the host and its new coach, who disappeared in the fourth quarter • Daryl Monroe excelled with 16 points
Braimo and Blatt
Photography:
Alan Shiver
A
game in the Balkan league is not a real scale, but Dainius Adumatis can be worried about his first game as Hapoel Jerusalem coach in a 79:73 loss to Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
Apparently, even a change of coach, certainly not when a few training sessions were available to him, can not erase the big problem of the Jerusalem team this season - the collapse in the last quarter.
In the few training sessions available to him since he was appointed to the post on Thursday, the Lithuanian coach asked his trainees to increase the pace on defense and also added some new exercises on offense.
The attack is still too early to judge, but in defense we saw more intensity on the part of Jerusalem players who led the opponent to a low percentage from the field, especially outside the arc, for two and a half quarters and raised them to a record 18-point advantage.
Then came Money Time.
The visitors from Rishon LeZion ran 0:15 and erased a promising advantage for Hapoel Jerusalem on the way to a surprising victory and obtaining a ticket to the next stage. Daryl Monroe, who if not he, excelled with 16 points. Another for Guy Goodes is that even on his team's mediocre day it comes out with a win from the arena.
2.
On Wednesday (19:00) will play Maccabi Rishon against Hapoel Gilboa / Galil with new coach Avishai Gordon. The winner will join Hapoel Holon and qualify for the second group stage at the factory to join the first four ranked in the Lord, which play Akdmik Plovdiv me. Sea Brew from Bulgaria, KK Iber and Taudo Tibet from Montenegro, KK Komanovo and KK Skopje from northern Macedonia.
In the second house stage there will be two houses of three teams each, each playing four games.
After completing two rounds, the first two ranks in each house will advance to the Final Four, which is expected to take place in the spring, most likely in Israel.
3. The
two teams fought and ran, but the feeling that they both knew that the important game between them would be played in less than a month in the State Cup semifinals could not be ignored.
Hapoel Jerusalem has an important task even before that.
Already next week she will be hosted by Limoges in the closing round of the Champions League home stage.
Adumatis' problem is that in Europe he is no longer dependent on himself but on the result of the corresponding game.