Tonight: Our Domestic Season Tips Off

There’s a special kind of excitement reserved for opening night. The standings are still untouched, a whole season lies ahead, and everyone is waiting for the first tip-off. Tonight (Sunday, 20:55, live on Sport 5), our league campaign gets underway too: Hapoel visits Holon at Toto Arena, looking to carry the momentum from our latest European win into a successful start at home as well. We’re starting on the road, against a familiar opponent, ready to give it everything.

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Saša Obradovi?’s team heads into tonight after a week that showed just how quickly things can change in basketball. The loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Winner Cup semifinals ended our bid to retain the trophy, but just two days later, Hapoel bounced back with a hard-fought 75-64 road win over Ljubljana. Following our opening-round victory over Rostock, that result took us to a perfect 2:0 record in the EuroCup.

Coach Saša ahead of the game
 

In Ljubljana, Dušan led our scorers with 14 points, David Roddy added 12, Kenny Lofton Jr. contributed 11, and Shake Milton finished with 10. Four players in double figures, nine players on the scoresheet, and, above all, an opponent held to just 64 points. After the difficult second half against Maccabi, it was an important response from the team. Now comes the next challenge: building on it with our first league win.

On the other side, another team is looking for a fresh start. Predrag Kruni?’s Holon comes into the game after a 99–79 loss to Cholet in its Basketball Champions League opener, played in Samokov, Bulgaria. The Purple finished the first quarter ahead, but a second-quarter run by the French side opened a gap they could never close. Tonight, they’ll be looking to bounce back and we’ll be there to stop them.

The main, and very familiar name to watch on the opposing roster is Adama Sanogo. Holon’s big man finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds against Cholet, showing exactly the challenge he poses around the basket. It’s a big challenge for Kenny, but one he can handle. Any challenge, for that matter. And while we’re talking about the Juniors, we’ll also need to keep a close eye on Holon’s Lester Medford Jr., who added 15 points in that game, while captain Netanel Artzi contributed 10. Alongside them, Holon’s roster also includes Yair Kravitz, Shahar Amir, Claudell Harris Jr., and Rivaldo Soares.

For us, the battle in the paint and on the boards will be one of the keys tonight. Against Sanogo’s presence inside, every box-out and every rebound can make a difference. On offense, we’ll want to see the ball moving, the responsibility shared, and our team play continuing to come together. The start of our European campaign has already shown that different players can step up and lead us. Against Holon, we’ll once again need a contribution from everyone who takes the floor, and focus throughout all forty minutes. And one more thing, the most important of all: you.

Another long season begins. And it begins with a single step. Tonight, we want to take that step together with your energy and our first win in the standings.