The season’s surprise package pulled off an impressive win after seven of its players scored in double figures
Mighty Hapoel rolls on to beat Partizan and stay top of the standings
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 7 of 38
Regular Season
Hapoel IBI Tel AvivHTA
9784
Partizan Mozzart Bet BelgradePAR
Overview
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Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv marched on relentlessly and improved to 6-1 after a glitzy 97-84 home win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Wednesday night, as selfless teamwork saw the Israeli side blow away its rival on the back of an effervescent second-half performance.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis celebrated a sweet win over his former mentor and close friend Zeljko Obradovic, with the two forming an unbreakable bond during a glorious 1999-2012 spell at Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens where they won five EuroLeague titles together.
Boasting a deep roster at Hapoel, Itoudis emerged as a worthy winner in Sofia. The noisy Partizan fans made the Serbian outfit feel at home, although it’s currently Hapoel’s turf until the club’s long-awaited return to its Tel Aviv base in December.
No less than seven Hapoel players scored in double figures and the outcome epitomized the team’s unselfish approach as Collin Malcolm led the way on 17 points and 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, with the hosts sinking 12 of 26 three-pointers in a high-octane clash.
Having praised his teammates, Malcolm also struck a note of caution that Hapoel should take nothing for granted so early in the season, despite making the headlines time and again since the club hit uncharted territory by joining Europe’s premier club competition this term.
“We did a really good job handling their physicality and pressure in the second half and once we started finding the right guys, we started to score,” Malcolm said in his post-game comments. “It’s good to see that we’re progressing but nobody won the league after seven rounds so we’ve still got a long way to go. This team is capable of a lot of good things so we’re now focused on Round 8 and the matchup with Olympiacos.”
Big man Dan Oturu racked up 14 points and 6 boards, Antonio Blakeney added 13 points while Chris Jones chipped in with 12. Ish Wainright and Elijah Bryant added 11 apiece and Vasilije Micic sank 10 to round up Hapoel’s smooth all-round display which saw Partizan reeling throughout the second half after staying on an even keel in the opening 20 minutes.
The visiting team’s new signing Bruno Fernando made a limited impact in the paint as the big man from Angola finished on 6 points and 3 boards, with Sterling Brown pacing Partizan on 19 points and Duane Washington adding 15. They were the only two visiting players in double figures, however, with the long-term absence of livewire playmaker Carlik Jones beginning to bite hard as Partizan slipped to 3-4 after a second successive crushing defeat following the previous round’s 83-101 home drubbing by Paris Basketball.
Having singled out Malcolm, Coach Itoudis underlined that Hapoel’s deep roster gave him plenty of options at both ends of the court. “We’re a new team and still getting to know each other but we had a good second half, scoring 54 points and shooting 7 of 14 from three-point range,” the Greek tactician said.
“Congrats to the players, we managed to win even though we didn’t have a great game. A deep roster helps in having different protagonists every game. The bench contributes too while Malcolm is effective all over, on offense and defense.”
Obradovic, who faces an uphill battle to get his shorthanded team back on track with guard Shake Milton also sidelined by injury, could only acknowledge that is men fell woefully short in a lop-sided second half. “It was a game of two different halves,” said the winner of a record nine EuroLeague titles with five different clubs. “The first half was close but in the second we made all sorts of mistakes as our defense was terrible and Hapoel fully deserved their win.”
