27 years have passed since Hapoel Jerusalem won at Romema Hall, and last night (Sunday) that changed when the Reds from the capital left the hall in Carmel with a 57:74 victory over Hapoel Haifa, which raised their record in the league to 2:3 and sent them into the international break with a smile.
"It's always good to win, certainly by such a margin, which in my opinion is our biggest this season. In many parts of the game, we played good basketball," said Jerusalem coach Alexander Dzikic, "of course, like any team, we also have drops of tension and energy during the game. I'm satisfied From the win, we go into the break with a smile and it's always better to go out with a win than a loss. It was also important for me to send the players home with good energy."
Although the team from the capital is struggling so far on the offensive side of the field, it is showing a wonderful defensive game, when the victim on duty was Anthony Hickey, a star of Hapoel Haifa, who was chosen as the outstanding player of the previous round with 20 points, but last night he was stopped in a scoreless game, while his team was stopped with 5 points only in the last quarter.
"It was a team effort, we all had to be focused on it. He's a good player who also produces for his teammates and I'm glad we stopped him," shared Speedy Smith at the end, who contributed 12 points along with 4 assists and 3 rebounds, in the team's best game of the season.
Dzikich, photo: Maor Alxalsi
"I'm my own biggest critic, I'm surrounded by great players. I try to be consistent and direct things on the field. I bring energy to my style of play and I have to make sure I continue to do that on a daily basis," concluded Smith.
The club praised the performance of Liwai Randolph, who led the list of Reds scorers with 18 points, in his best game of the season.
"Leivai is a great player, he is now starting to get into the rhythm and we are learning how to play with him and for him," noted Džikić.
After the victory, the Reds' players went on a few days off as part of the national teams' break, when the Jerusalemites will return to the courts in about two weeks and host Hapoel Galil Iliyon as part of the sixth round of the league.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us