Hapoel Jerusalem succeeded last night (Monday) in its first baptism of fire of the season, showing character when it came back from a double-digit deficit and in front of 5,500 spectators beat the Turkish Drushpaka 67:69 in the opening round of the Champions League.
Despite the dramatic victory and the comeback shown by his players when they came back from a 13-point deficit, Aleksandar Džikić was not particularly happy with his team's performance.
"We know we can play better, but this is the start of the season and we are happy for the victory."
"We knew in advance what problems could appear and that's how it was, but at least we know what we have to change. We continued to fight even though we were behind. There are many things I'm not happy with, I'd love for us to be smarter, for example in the field of offenses, and for us to play faster," the Reds' coach noted .
Alexander Dzikic.
There is something to work on, photo: Barney Ardov
The club marked the defensive intensity that rose in the second half as the factor that decided the game, when the Turks were held to only 12 points in the last ten minutes.
"We went into the last quarter 'hungry' and ready for war - to be the ones who 'strike' first and not the ones who steal. We saw that the referees allowed us to play aggressively, so we took advantage of that. As soon as we set a high level of intensity, we saw the change," Zach Hankins said at the end.
Levi Randolph, who recorded a wonderful game personally with 14 points and 4 assists, concluded: "It was a tough game against a team that came to fight back. We made adjustments in the second half, we fought as the coach wants and as he illustrates himself and we achieved the victory. It was very important for us and I am happy that we made the audience happy."
In the group, we marked as a point for thought the stammering opening, which allowed the Turks to score 25 points in the first quarter and at least a double-digit gap, as a warning sign that should be heeded.
"We talked about the energy we need to bring and the 'hunger' at the beginning of the game, but it wasn't there yet. Once we improved our approach, we were able to come back," added Hankins, who contributed 10 points and added 9 rebounds.
Hankins (poll) and Blazer, photo: Barney Ardov
After the victory, the team will begin its preparations for the opening game of the season in the league, which summoned the Reds to a heated battle at the Totu Hall against the champion Hapoel Holon.
"We will have a strong challenge against a great team with a supportive crowd, we will have to show them that we are Hapoel Jerusalem and we can compete and beat them," Hankins concluded.
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