After recording a disappointing loss in the first round of the league, Hapoel Jerusalem lost last night (Saturday) to Bnei Herzliya.
The Reds looked unconnected and uncoordinated, failed to stop Chris Babb (24 points) and his friends, suffered a second league loss in a row and opened the season with a negative 0:2 balance, for the first time since the 2013/14 season.
"We played two different halves, you don't need to understand much to see that we just stopped playing. In the first half we controlled what happened, in the second half we just didn't and that's something we'll have to talk about. I think we lacked a little focus in the second half and were more tense than we should have been. It's a loss It's difficult, and I apologize to our fans," said Hapoel Jerusalem coach, Alexander Dzikic.
The lack of the team's center, Zach Hankins, was prominently felt on the floor in Sharon.
The American is suffering from a sprained neck and therefore the club decided not to participate in order not to risk him, as he is expected to take part in the team's game on Wednesday against Ludwigsburg.
In his absence, the team clearly lost the battle for rebounds (30 vs. 37 for the cup holder) and in points in the paint (30 for the Reds vs. 55).
Dzikic.
Disappointed, photo: Oded Karni
The team's forward Marks Meiris who recorded 6 points and 5 rebounds shared his feelings at the end: "There is not much to say, it was our worst game of the season, especially in the second half and we don't want to experience it again. Things did not go our way. We are a new team And things are not perfect yet, but we need to stay united in moments like this especially. We know what we need to work on now," Meiris concluded.
Džikić's group does not have much time to prepare for the next challenge, because in three days the German Ludwigsburg will arrive at the Arena as part of the second round of the FIBA Champions League, in a game that the Jerusalemites must win in order not to get into trouble at an early stage of the European season. "In the next game We have to win and that's it, simply," Dzi'kic concluded.
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