The outcome of the Round 1 clash between Hapoel Tel Aviv and London Lions will come down to many things. Here are some keys to this game.
Keys to victory: Hapoel vs. London
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 1 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel AvivHTA
7659
London LionsLDN
group b
Overview
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Hapoel’s bigs can set the tone
London made a lot of headlines with its deep and experienced frontline with the likes of Kosta Koufos, Tomislav Zubcic, Sam Dekker and Ovie Soko, among others. However, Hapoel has an impressive and deep frontline of its own which has done a good job so far this season not only on the boards, but also in passing from the post. Backup center Idan Zalmanson was second on the team in assists with 5 in Friday’s domestic affair and he and starter Chris Horton combined to block 7 shots. If the hosts control the paint against London, it will make a major difference in the final result.
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv | Round 12 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Powerful dunk by Dan Oturu! Motorola Magic Moment
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London Lions - Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse | Round 8 | EuroCup 2025-26
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Ish Wainright’s alley-oop slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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Chris Jones from midcourt! Motorola Magic Moment
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Dubai Basketball-Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv | Round 9 highlights | EuroLeague 2025-26
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Alley-oop from Odiase! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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What a rejection by Tai Odiase! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:19
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Dan Oturu throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
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![https://media-cdn.cortextech.io/a7895024-bed3-45dd-998f-0b3a36a91c28.jpg?crop=1920%3A1080%3Anowe%3A0%3A0]()
Olympiacos Piraeus-Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv | Round 8 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Malcolm delivers on both ends! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:14
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Oturu skies for the alley-oop slam! Motorola Magic Moment
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London Lions-Turk Telekom Ankara | Round 5 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroCup
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Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | Round 7 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:10
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Micic feeds Blakeney for a fine dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:15
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Dan Oturu on the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Tyrique Jones on the alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
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Blakeney’s sky-high block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Dan Oturu spins to slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Micic magic feeds Ginat! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:16
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Dan Oturu’s fierce alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/8h0knxK1LfI/maxresdefault.jpg]()
NINERS Chemnitz-London Lions | Round 4 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroCup
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/EMS_LJs7XTI/maxresdefault.jpg]()
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London Lions-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 3 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroCup
![https://img.youtube.com/vi/En-4iqoyF3g/maxresdefault.jpg]()
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London Lions-Buducnost VOLI Podgorica | Round 1 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroCup
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Virtus Bologna-Real Madrid | Round 1 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv-FC Barcelona | Round 1 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
- 00:18
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Niang's poster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Vildoza goes coast-to-coast! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:17
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Tavares's big block! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Oturu's put-back dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Catch the first episode of this season's Fantasy Challenge Podcast
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- 00:11
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Bingham with the poster dunk! Magic Moment
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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv-Dreamland Gran Canaria | Finals Game 1 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:24
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Blakeney puts Conditt on a poster! Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:15
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Johnathan Motley: 'If we keep playing defense like this, we are gonna be hard to beat'
- 00:08
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What a super-block by Caboclo! Magic Moment
London needs threes to fall
With its powerful players inside, there should be ample opportunity for the Lions’ perimeter players to strike. Thus far, that has not been the case with the team converting just 28.0% of its three-point tries in the British League. No player with more than 3 tries is shooting above 37% so far and Coach Ryan Schmidt’s charges could certainly use the threat of long-range shots to threaten in Tel Aviv this week.