Hapoel returns from Eilat with a victory

?Hapoel continues its good form and won a 95:57 over Hapoel Eilat today (Sunday). Ilias Kantzouris, who was introduced last week as the team's head coach, can be satisfied after an excellent game by his team, and especially by the captain Levi Randolph (19 points). Hapoel will continue with an away game against Ness Ziona when Coach Kantzouris will hope to continue leading the team to victories.

 

1st Quarter

Hapoel opens with Speedy Smith, Or Cornelius, Levi Randolph, Oz Blayzer and Zach Hankins. Starting with the jump ball, Hapoel was sharp, reached high-quality and quick points in its attack - and mainly thanks to two successful three-pointers by Levi Randolph, it went up to a quick 10:0 after 4 minutes of basketball. Maximiliano Menti, took a quick timeout hoping to mount a successful attack. The Southerners did manage to score a basket, but Speedy Smith returned with two three-pointers of his own. Chris Johnson who came in did the quiet work he is used to doing, and at the end of the first quarter - 26:8 to Hapoel.

 

Hapoel under the leadership of Randolph sweeps the court

 

2nd Quarter
10 seconds of a Jerusalem attack at the beginning of the second quarter, including a beautiful move by Chris Johnson and Gabi Chachasvili, was enough for the Italian coach from Eilat to take a timeout. Eilat came back well from the timeout, tightened the defense and went on a 12:3 run on the way to reducing the Jerusalem lead to a single digit lead. The Blues' run was stopped when, of course, Levi Randolph took charge, scoring baskets from isolations time and time again, reaching 14 points before the end of the half. The quarter closed with another three-pointer, and after 20 minutes of basketball and 5/9 outside the arc - 47:34 for the Reds.

 

 

3rd Quarter
The 3rd quarter started well for Eilat, until Speedy Smith, with a smart offensive drive, and Levi Randolph, with his usual scoring abilities - raised the advantage to over 20 points, and sent Eilat to a quick timeout. The Reds continued to show regular and flowing attacks, much thanks to Brynton Lemar who knew both in his absence and with Speedy's side to show both playmaking and scoring abilities. The tighter defense also helped and at the end of the quarter - 72:47 to Hapoel.

 

Need a scorer? He is a scorer. Need a playmaker? He is a playmaker

 

Defense is the name of the game for Hapoel Jerusalem, and in particular at the start of the fourth quarter where the Reds increased the pressure, went on passing attacks, and managed to reach an impressive lead of 30 points. From this point the two teams traded baskets as the game went into a low intensity game. Even with a secondary composition and not high intensity, Hapoel continued to increase its advantage even more when at the end of the game - 95:57 for Hapoel.