Coach Itoudis’s charges took a dramatic victory over Crvena Zvezda
Hapoel beats Zvezda on historic night to stay atop the standings
Informes de partidos
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 16 of 38
Regular Season
Hapoel IBI Tel AvivHTA
8478
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet BelgradeCZV
Overview
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There was plenty at stake for both teams when Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv hosted Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Jerusalem’s Pais Arena on Tuesday night.
For Hapoel, not only was it a historic occasion, but it also provided an opportunity to start the last double-round week of the year by staying at the top of the standings.
And for Zvezda, it was a chance to snap a two-game losing run and immediately bounce back from the heartache of last week’s Serbian Derby defeat.
In the end, an incredibly close game – which saw neither team lead by more than 7 points at any stage – was settled in the final few possessions, when Chris Jones netted a pair of tough two-point baskets and Zvezda fired blanks at the other end. The final result left the Hapoel fans cheering an 84-78 victory that lifted its record to 12-4.
Along with Jones, another hero for the home team was Elijah Bryant, who added more spectacular numbers to an already stellar season by pouring in a personal best 28 points, including 6 of 11 three-pointers. Fittingly, Bryant scored the final points of the game from the foul line to ensure there was no Zvezda comeback, and his added contributions of 5 assists and 9 rebounds – while spending nearly 39 minutes on the floor – underlined his importance to the Hapoel cause.
Bryant, who is surely among the leading mid-season candidates for the league MVP award, was his usual humble self after the game, telling EuroLeague TV: “We came out and fought to the end. I just try to do whatever I can to help my team win, whether it’s score, assist or rebound.”
He did all three of those things on Tuesday, but victorious coach Dimitris Itoudis preferred to focus on his team’s collective efforts in holding Zvezda’s offense to just 7 points in the last 4 minutes.
“It was not easy, there were a lot of emotions for our first game in Israel,” said Itoudis. “I think, at the end, our hustle gave us the game. We had to change the mindset defensively and the hustle we gave was amazing. [Jared] Butler was hurting us with isos onto his dominant hand, but we were able to stop that.”
From a wider perspective, Itoudis also reflected on his team’s proud position at the top of the EuroLeague standings, expressing his confidence that Hapoel is on the right path to becoming one of the leading teams on the continent.
“We’re in the process of building something good, and I think the fans and the media, everybody is witnessing that,” the two-time EuroLeague champion stated. “We’re trying to build camaraderie, team effort. The one thing we want to say to ourselves is that we never give up, and we also understand that we have qualities that others need to respect.”
Those qualities will certainly be both respected and tested later this week, when Itoudis takes his high-flying team to the place where he developed his reputation with a long spell as an assistant coach: Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. If Hapoel comes through that challenge with another win, there will be no doubting the team’s potential.
Zvezda, on the other hand, faces a run of games that could well define the remainder of its season. With three straight losses – and a 2-5 record on the road – the Serbian team will be under pressure when the double round resumes with a visit from Virtus Bologna on Friday.
Coach Sasa Obradovic overcame his obvious disappointment to remain phlegmatic after the latest loss, stating: “We made some tactical mistakes in crucial situations. It was the same as the Partizan game, and we need to learn how to manage these situations.
"We could have won, but this is a game of basketball. We go to the next one.”
For Zvezda, that next one could be crucial.
