The 30-year-old swingman stepped up big when his team needed him most
Elijah Bryant shows his MVP credentials in Bologna
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 15 of 38
Regular Season
Virtus BolognaVIR
7479
Hapoel IBI Tel AvivHTA
Overview
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Not many would have bet on this at the start of the season, but it's a fact: Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv is the sole leader atop the 2025-26 EuroLeague Regular Season standings after 15 games.
Hapoel each of the first three quarters against Virtus Bologna before rallying in the fourth period to get an impressive 74-79 road victory, good for a league-best 11-4 record.
Virtus led for the large part of the game, despite having troubles. Top scorer Carsen Edwards finished the game with two points on 1-of-11 shooting. Matt Morgan came off the bench to score 11 points in six minutes, but he then had to come out of the game with an injury. He was able to return and ended up leading Virtus with 21 points in as many minutes.
Down 55-46 late in the third quarter, Hapoel needed a go-to guy and Elijah Bryant stepped up big for coach Dimitris Itoudis's team once again, scoring 14 of his 22 points in the final 12 minutes to lead the guests' rally.
Bryant rescued Hapoel in arguably its most fragile moment of the game with a step-back jumper off the dribble and a coast-to-coast layup, bringing his team within 55-50. Chris Jones and Antonio Blakeney, who had combined for just 3 points in the opening three quarters, joined Bryant's effort. Jones and Blakeney combined for 11 points in the next six minutes to put Hapoel in charge, 65-67, with over 4 minutes left.
Edwards found his only basket of the game, a driving layup which tied it at 67-67. That's when Hapoel regrouped on defense and Bryant delivered at both ends. He picked up a steal which allowed him to hit a close jumper at the other end, and soon swished a highly-contested jumper that capped an 0-8 run which effectively sealed the outcome, 67-75, in the penultimate minute of the contest.
"In the first half, we gave up 10 offense rebounds, which led to 18 points," Bryant said after the game. "And then we changed our mindset in the second half and trying to get a defensive effort. They have a bunch of off-screen shooters. I'm pretty sure they lead the league in off-screen shooting. So we had to lock in and we were able to get a win.
"At the end, we were able to get some momentum and find some stuff that was working for us and get some defensive stops and get the win."
Bryant made the different in crunch time, but Dan Oturu was a solid force all game long, especially in the first quarter, getting 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Oturu ended up getting his first double-double of his EuroLeague career with season highs of 21 points, 10 rebounds and a PIR of 30.
His effort under the boards allowed Hapoel to turn things around. After being outrebounded 23-15 in the first half, Hapoel won the battle of the boards after the break (12-16). Oturu, however, was eager to give credit to the entire team for fighting.
"It's a collective effort from everybody, not just the bigs fighting for the boards, but everybody," Oturu said. "When the shots go up, finding our man, hitting them, and then going to get the track and the ball. And everybody helping, coming in. The guards coming in to help the bigs get the ball. It's a huge part.
"That was, I think, in the first half, a really important thing that we needed to focus on coming into the second half. So honing in on that side and just grabbing the ball and making sure we get one shot and one stop is super important. I think that's what helped us win today."
Hapoel is now set to look for its 12th win at home when it hosts Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade at Pais Arena Jerusalem on Tuesday, December 16. Virtus will look to bounce back in the first of two games in Serbia next week as it faces Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Wednesday, December 17.
