Hapoel Opens the Winner Cup on the Right Foot

The team from the capital was without Jared Harper, last season's league MVP, as well as its Israeli national team players, but managed well in their absence - thanks in large part to a promising first appearance in Israel from Cassius Winston. On the other side, Sharon Drucker's team may have lost, but there were plenty of reasons for optimism following its performance at Pais Arena - most importantly, the newly promoted side is once again back on Israeli basketball's main stage.

Hapoel scorers: Cassius Winston 19, Justin Smith 16, Roi Huber 10, Anthony Lamb and Austin Wiley 9 each, Josiah-Jordan James 5, Roi Pritzky 4, Rani Belaga 1.

Maccabi Rishon LeZion scorers: D.J. Burns 23, Kava Grant 15, J.J. Kaplan (12 rebounds) 10, Golan Gutt 9, Marcus Williams 6, Amin Stevens and Josh Freund 3 each.


Hapoel fans. A new season with high expectations gets underway (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Hapoel started with Cassius Winston, Roi Pritzky, Josiah-Jordan James, Anthony Lamb and Austin Wiley. The newly promoted visitors opened with Kava Grant, Golan Gutt, J.J. Kaplan, D.J. Burns and Amin Stevens.

The opening minutes belonged to Rishon LeZion, whose aggressive defense forced Hapoel into four early turnovers. At the other end, the visitors knocked down three shots from beyond the arc to take a 13-5 lead after four minutes. Hapoel gradually found its rhythm, and 9 points from Smith helped bring the hosts level at 19-19. Grant responded with his second three-pointer of the quarter, which ended with Rishon LeZion leading 22-20.

The visitors also started the second quarter better, with two three-pointers from Gutt giving them their largest lead of the game at 42-33 with just under three minutes remaining in the first half. From that point on, Hapoel went on a 10-0 run and headed into the locker room with a 43-42 lead, thanks in large part to 14 points from Winston, who also hit Hapoel's only three-pointer of the first half.

The third quarter was far from a high-scoring affair, with Hapoel needing more than four minutes to score its first points. Rishon LeZion didn't fare much better, scoring only 8 points throughout the entire quarter. Yonatan Alon's team entered the final period with a 55-50 lead.

The game remained close throughout the fourth quarter, but the visitors from the City of Wine couldn't find the few plays they needed to complete the comeback. Hapoel maintained its lead throughout the quarter and closed out a 73-69 victory.


Winston. Led the winners in scoring (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Smith. Opened his second season in the capital with a strong performance (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Lamb. 9 points in his Hapoel debut (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

Winston after the final buzzer. Stepped up in Harper's absence (Photo: Bernie Ardov)