Hapoel kept is strong start in Group A going with another road win on Wednesday.
Hapoel gets past Cedevita Olimpija, 80-95

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv made another step closer toward returning to the BKT EuroCup Playoffs by downing Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 80-95 on Wednesday. Hapoel lifted its record to 7-2 and retained third place in Group A, while Cedevita remained winless at 0-10.
Hapoel led for most of the night until Cedevita made a third-quarter run behind Jaka Blazic and Karlo Matkovic to take a 54-53 lead. But Hapoel answered with a 0-7 run, opened a double-digit lead before the end of the third quarter and cruised to victory. Jaylen Hoard led five double-digit Hapoel scorers with 17 points. Braian Angola scored 15, Idan Zalmanson 13, Xavier Munford 12 and Bar Timor 11, while J'Covan Brown added 8 points and 9 assists. For Cedevita, Blazic finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Matkovic had 19 point and 5 blocks. D.J. Stewart collected 14 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, while Gregor Glas finished with 11 points in defeat.
Hapoel controlled the game and was in the lead for majority of the night. Cedevita made a run in the third quarter behind Jaka Blazic and Karlo Matkovic to take a 54-53 lead, but Hapoel answered with a 0-7 run, opened a double-digit lead before the end of the third quarter and cruised to victory. Hapoel had five scorers in double figures, as Jaylen Hoard led the way with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Braian Angola scored 15, Idan Zalmanson scored 13, Xavier Munford 12 and Bar Timor had 11 points, while J'Covan Brown had 8 points and 9 assists. Blazic finished with 21 points and 8 rebouns, Matkovic had 19 point and 5 blocks, D.J. Stewart collected 14 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds, while Gregor Glas finished with 11 points in defeat.
Game Videos
The game had at fast pace from the start, with Matkovic dunking on a fastbreak and delivering a block to help the hosts to a 9-6 lead. Angola responded, nailing a triple before Hoard strung together 7 points to open an 11-18 lead for the visitors. Cedevita finished the quarter with a triple from Stewart and a three-point play from Glas to pull within 17-18. Timor took it to the rim twice early in the second quarter, and after another triple from Stewart, Idan Zalmanson scored twice to open a 22-28 Hapoel advantage. The hosts countered with 6 consecutive points, including another three-point play from Glas, but triples from John Holland and Munford filled a 2-12 run capped by Tomer Ginat's fastbreak basket to make it 30-40. Blazic stopped the bleeding with a tough corner triple. He and Matkovic combined for 8 more points in the final 2 minutes of the quarter to cut the difference to 41-45 at the break.
Hapoel scored on its first four trips of the third quarter to double the margin, but Matkovic scored 7 points, and then a fastbreak layup from Blazic got Cedevita in front 54-53. Angola answered with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, and Hapoel kept running in transition at any opportunity. Fastbreak baskets from Brown and Hoard restored a 54-60 advantage. Hapoel did not stop there, but put together another 0-7 run capped by another Angola triple that made it 57-69. The visitors took a 10-point margin into the final quarter, and a fastreak basket by Angola made it 59-72 after just 81 seconds. A quick 5 points from Zalmanson, including a three-point play, opened a 62-77 advantage, and Hapoel never let the hosts into the game again even though Blazic, Luka Scuka and Glas each hit a three-pointer for the hosts. Hapoel was scoring with ease through Brown, Hoard and Timor, extending the margin to 70-86 before closing out the game.