Party: Hapoel Wins Tel Aviv!
Hapoel Tel Aviv’s debut at Menora Mivtachim Arena did not intimidate Hapoel Jerusalem – who defeated them 77:92. Carrington was on fire with 26 points (Photo: Oded Karni)
11/01/2025
| News
Much has been said in recent weeks about Hapoel Tel Aviv’s debut game at the Menora Mivtachim Arena as their (temporary) home court, held tonight (Saturday). The crowd filled the stands at Menora, and Hapoel ended the festive evening as the big winner with a 77:92 victory, which also gives them the tiebreak advantage over their rival after losing by 13 points in the first round at Pais Arena.
Yonatan Alon’s team secured a particularly important win against one of their main competitors at the top, largely thanks to 46 points in the paint and 17 offensive rebounds. The Reds distributed only 12 assists but lost just ten turnovers. Khadeen Carrington led the team with 26 points on 9/17 shooting (5/7 from three) and was steady and dominant throughout his 26 minutes on the court. Jared Harper added 21 points with seven free throws made, and Justin Smith contributed 16 points on 8/14 shooting, along with six rebounds, three steals, and a crucial defensive play at the end that preserved the double-digit lead. Yovel Zoosman had an excellent start but cooled off offensively later, finishing with 11 points on 5/7 shooting, eight rebounds, and three steals.
Game Flow:
Hapoel Tel Aviv starting five: Yam Madar, Patrick Beverley, Marcus Foster, Tomer Ginat, Jonathan Motley.
Hapoel Jerusalem starting five: Jared Harper, Tarik Phillip, Yovel Zoosman, Chris Johnson, Justin Smith.
Zoosman and Beverley opened the game strongly — Zoosman with five points and an assist to Johnson, Beverley with five points of his own. Ginat tied the game at 7:7, Phillip responded with a corner three, Beverley scored a tough basket inside, then Smith and Madar scored the first points for their teams. Zoosman continued to excel with a strong post move and then a steal leading to a Smith dunk, prompting a timeout by Itoudis. Antonio Blakeney and Bar Timor scored first points for their team, but Harper answered with five points of his own to make it 17:21. Timor found Ginat from outside, Carrington responded with a tough drive, but Guy Peltin hit a corner three to cut the deficit to one. Ginat then completed a three-point play. Carrington and Bruno Caboclo traded threes, Ginat corrected a miss by the Brazilian, but another three by Carrington closed the first quarter at an outstanding 29:30.
Zoosman. Great start for the captain (Photo: Oded Karni)
Beverley opened the second quarter with his second three-pointer, Smith again corrected a miss by a teammate inside, Harper drew his second foul from Caboclo and tied it from the line. But the excellent Ginat completed a move inside and added a steal and assist to a Beverley three. Harper drove to the rim and Phillip found Smith for an easy basket, who also added a steal and dunk to restore the lead for the visitors. Zoosman completed another nice move inside, Peltin responded with a layup after a Beverley steal, but Smith and Johnson put the score at 40:44, five minutes to halftime. Phillip extended the lead to a game-high six with a nice drive, Beverley replied with one of his own, but Carrington got to the rim with a crafty move and Harper added a point to make it 42:50. Itoudis’s timeout didn’t cool Carrington who nailed a three to establish double-digit advantage, but Oz Blazer answered with a corner three. Foster energized the arena with a powerful put-back dunk, and Blakeney capped a 0:7 run that cut the deficit to 49:53 at halftime.
Carrington. On fire in the second quarter (Photo: Oded Karni)
Harper hit a three at the start of the third quarter, Zoosman completed a great drive against the entire red defense, while Ginat was perfect correcting Madar’s miss. Motley scored a free throw, Harper responded with a two-pointer from the same range, Phillip finished a basket and one after a careless inbound by the home team, making it 52:63. Motley scored inside and Beverley from the line, but Johnson grabbed another offensive rebound and restored the double-digit lead. Koulechov cut and received a nice pass from Harper, then added a three-pointer, while Foster made a basket and one. Carrington easily passed Caboclo and established a game-high 14-point lead, prompting Itoudis to call a timeout. Madar and Blakeney cut the lead back to ten, but Carrington closed the quarter with a tough drive at 62:74.
Harper. The visitors took control in the third quarter (Photo: Oded Karni)
Peltin opened the fourth quarter with a three, Beverley added a big block on Smith, but the big man answered with an alley-oop off a Harper pass, followed by another layup on a similar play. Harper finished a tough drive on Blakeney and set a game-high 15-point lead, but the forward answered with a crucial three, and Ginat cut it to 70:80, five minutes to go. Carrington responded with three free throws and a big three-pointer that extended the lead to 16. Beverley and Timor tried to revive the game with a 5-0 run, but hot Carrington put the exclamation mark on the game with a three. In the last minute, the teams battled for the internal tiebreak advantage after the home team’s 13-point win in the first round. Harper scored 15 points from the line, and Smith recorded two huge blocks in the final play to seal the game at 77:92 for the visitors from the capital.
Scorers for Hapoel Tel Aviv: Beverley 18 (6/6 FG), Ginat 17 (6/6 FG, 5/5 FT, 8 rebounds, 4 assists), Blakeney 9 (4/8 FG), Peltin 8 (3/6 FG), Foster (2/11 FG), Motley (2/7 FG, 3 rebounds), Timor (2/7 FG), Madar (2/4 FG) 5 each, Blazer and Caboclo 3 each.
Scorers for Hapoel Jerusalem: Carrington 26 (9/17 FG, 5/7 3PT), Harper 21 (6/19 FG, 7/8 FT, 4 assists), Smith 16 (8/14 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), Zoosman 11 (5/7 FG, 8 rebounds, 3 steals), Phillip 8 (3/6 FG), Koulechov 5 (2/2 FG), Johnson 5 (2/3 FG, 9 rebounds). Also played: Morgan, Chachashvili
Yonatan Alon’s team secured a particularly important win against one of their main competitors at the top, largely thanks to 46 points in the paint and 17 offensive rebounds. The Reds distributed only 12 assists but lost just ten turnovers. Khadeen Carrington led the team with 26 points on 9/17 shooting (5/7 from three) and was steady and dominant throughout his 26 minutes on the court. Jared Harper added 21 points with seven free throws made, and Justin Smith contributed 16 points on 8/14 shooting, along with six rebounds, three steals, and a crucial defensive play at the end that preserved the double-digit lead. Yovel Zoosman had an excellent start but cooled off offensively later, finishing with 11 points on 5/7 shooting, eight rebounds, and three steals.
Game Flow:
Hapoel Tel Aviv starting five: Yam Madar, Patrick Beverley, Marcus Foster, Tomer Ginat, Jonathan Motley.
Hapoel Jerusalem starting five: Jared Harper, Tarik Phillip, Yovel Zoosman, Chris Johnson, Justin Smith.
Zoosman and Beverley opened the game strongly — Zoosman with five points and an assist to Johnson, Beverley with five points of his own. Ginat tied the game at 7:7, Phillip responded with a corner three, Beverley scored a tough basket inside, then Smith and Madar scored the first points for their teams. Zoosman continued to excel with a strong post move and then a steal leading to a Smith dunk, prompting a timeout by Itoudis. Antonio Blakeney and Bar Timor scored first points for their team, but Harper answered with five points of his own to make it 17:21. Timor found Ginat from outside, Carrington responded with a tough drive, but Guy Peltin hit a corner three to cut the deficit to one. Ginat then completed a three-point play. Carrington and Bruno Caboclo traded threes, Ginat corrected a miss by the Brazilian, but another three by Carrington closed the first quarter at an outstanding 29:30.
Zoosman. Great start for the captain (Photo: Oded Karni)
Beverley opened the second quarter with his second three-pointer, Smith again corrected a miss by a teammate inside, Harper drew his second foul from Caboclo and tied it from the line. But the excellent Ginat completed a move inside and added a steal and assist to a Beverley three. Harper drove to the rim and Phillip found Smith for an easy basket, who also added a steal and dunk to restore the lead for the visitors. Zoosman completed another nice move inside, Peltin responded with a layup after a Beverley steal, but Smith and Johnson put the score at 40:44, five minutes to halftime. Phillip extended the lead to a game-high six with a nice drive, Beverley replied with one of his own, but Carrington got to the rim with a crafty move and Harper added a point to make it 42:50. Itoudis’s timeout didn’t cool Carrington who nailed a three to establish double-digit advantage, but Oz Blazer answered with a corner three. Foster energized the arena with a powerful put-back dunk, and Blakeney capped a 0:7 run that cut the deficit to 49:53 at halftime.
Carrington. On fire in the second quarter (Photo: Oded Karni)
Harper hit a three at the start of the third quarter, Zoosman completed a great drive against the entire red defense, while Ginat was perfect correcting Madar’s miss. Motley scored a free throw, Harper responded with a two-pointer from the same range, Phillip finished a basket and one after a careless inbound by the home team, making it 52:63. Motley scored inside and Beverley from the line, but Johnson grabbed another offensive rebound and restored the double-digit lead. Koulechov cut and received a nice pass from Harper, then added a three-pointer, while Foster made a basket and one. Carrington easily passed Caboclo and established a game-high 14-point lead, prompting Itoudis to call a timeout. Madar and Blakeney cut the lead back to ten, but Carrington closed the quarter with a tough drive at 62:74.
Harper. The visitors took control in the third quarter (Photo: Oded Karni)
Peltin opened the fourth quarter with a three, Beverley added a big block on Smith, but the big man answered with an alley-oop off a Harper pass, followed by another layup on a similar play. Harper finished a tough drive on Blakeney and set a game-high 15-point lead, but the forward answered with a crucial three, and Ginat cut it to 70:80, five minutes to go. Carrington responded with three free throws and a big three-pointer that extended the lead to 16. Beverley and Timor tried to revive the game with a 5-0 run, but hot Carrington put the exclamation mark on the game with a three. In the last minute, the teams battled for the internal tiebreak advantage after the home team’s 13-point win in the first round. Harper scored 15 points from the line, and Smith recorded two huge blocks in the final play to seal the game at 77:92 for the visitors from the capital.
Scorers for Hapoel Tel Aviv: Beverley 18 (6/6 FG), Ginat 17 (6/6 FG, 5/5 FT, 8 rebounds, 4 assists), Blakeney 9 (4/8 FG), Peltin 8 (3/6 FG), Foster (2/11 FG), Motley (2/7 FG, 3 rebounds), Timor (2/7 FG), Madar (2/4 FG) 5 each, Blazer and Caboclo 3 each.
Scorers for Hapoel Jerusalem: Carrington 26 (9/17 FG, 5/7 3PT), Harper 21 (6/19 FG, 7/8 FT, 4 assists), Smith 16 (8/14 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), Zoosman 11 (5/7 FG, 8 rebounds, 3 steals), Phillip 8 (3/6 FG), Koulechov 5 (2/2 FG), Johnson 5 (2/3 FG, 9 rebounds). Also played: Morgan, Chachashvili
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