The Israeli side improves to 8-2 behind its star guards and a roaring home crowd, while the German team earns praise despite falling to 0-10
Jerusalem celebrates homecoming with win over Hamburg
Ανάλυση αγώνα
3 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Regular Season
Round 10 of 18
Regular Season
group a
Hapoel Midtown JerusalemJLM
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Veolia Towers HamburgHAM
group a
Overview
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After more than two years, the BKT EuroCup returned to Israel on Tuesday, and more than 2,500 fans at Toto Holon Arena witnessed Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem’s 86-76 victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg.
Jerusalem never trailed and controlled most of the game to improve to 8-2, staying tied for the top spot in Group A, while Hamburg fell to 0-10. Yet the night was about more than the scoreboard — it was about EuroCup basketball being back in Israel.
“When we got the news [that the game would take place in Israel], it was obviously a challenge because of everything that happened in recent years,” Hamburg coach Benka Barloschky said. “But the hospitality was great. The hotel was great. The food is always good in Tel Aviv. The atmosphere tonight was special. I’m happy for everyone who came and just focused on basketball for two and a half hours.”
Barloschky called Jerusalem the best team in the group and a contender for the title. His counterpart, Yonatan Alon, emphasized the impact of playing at home.
“Our fans are amazing — that’s what we were missing,” Alon said. “Sometimes when you’re sleepwalking through a game and the opponent isn’t great, the crowd lifts you and boom — you’ve won the game. When the fans are here, cheering and singing, there’s no way not to gain momentum.”
That momentum showed in the third quarter when Hamburg cut the lead to four. Josiah-Jordan James answered with a three-pointer, and Cassius Winston added free throws as Jerusalem pulled away before sealing the win in the fourth.
Jerusalem’s trio of star guards combined for 57 points and 7 assists. Reigning EuroCup MVP Jared Harper added 17 points and a season-high 6 rebounds for a PIR of 25.
“It was great to have our fans, have that atmosphere to kind of push us through the game,” Harper said. “This wasn’t our best game of the season, but we were able to feed off the energy of the fans and do what we're supposed to do, which is win, so it was good.”
For Hamburg, the game was more than just about serving as the opponent for Jerusalem's homecoming. Twenty-one-year-old center Zacharie Perrin had what his coach called his “best game so far” with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
“I'm very proud of my team that — against a physical team like this, against a very good defensive team like this — we only covered 10 turnovers, so we took care of the ball,” Barloschky said before going on to highlight his team's rebounding and effort.
"We kept it close for the whole game and we had Hapoel on the edge for a couple of minutes in every quarter and that's a very good step for us, so good performance," Barloschky summed up.
