

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv improved to 7-1 at Shlomo Group Arena and 11-5 overall after beating Veolia Towers Hamburg 91-85 in Round 16 action of the 7DAYS EuroCup on Tuesday evening. This win helps Hapoel's chances of securing home-court advantage in the playoffs, which could prove key, while Hamburg dropped to 5-11.
Xavier Munford and J'Covan Brown, the latter of whom came off the bench, led the way for Hapoel with 21 points apiece on a night when forward Tomer Ginat was unavailable. JP Tokoto had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Jaylen Hoard also got into double figures for points with 10. For Hamburg, Yoeli Childs impressed with a double-double of his own, which consisted of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Ziga Samar scored 18 points, Anthony Polite had 17 and Lukas Meisner added 10.
Tokoto got the ball rolling for Hapoel by scoring the first bucket of the game, but an inspired Childs soon took over, racking up 8 points and 5 rebounds – 4 of which came on the offensive end – as Hamburg took a 4-13 lead after the first four minutes of play. Hapoel ended its scoring drought with 5:42 remaining following 2 made free throws by Hoard, and soon after, 6 quick points by Brown helped the hosts cut the gap, 17-23, with 2:08 left. Hamburg extended the lead back to 9, 17-26, following a Harrison Cleary triple, but a 7-0 run saw Hapoel come roaring back, 24-26. Christoph Philipps nailed a triple, before Munford's 2 free throws made it 26-29 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, the play of Hoard, Munford and Brown allowed Hapoel to assert more control, with a 10-0 run allowing the hosts to race in front, 43-36, with 4:34 remaining before halftime. Hamburg refused to go away, though. After Munford went 2-for-2 from the line to make it 52-45 with just under two minutes left, 1 triple from Polite and 2 from Samar, who scored 13 points in the second quarter, helped Hamburg get back in front. The two teams went into the internal with the visitors narrowly ahead, 52-54.
It was an electric first half that was played at a very fast pace, but baskets became hard to come by in the third. Munford scored Hapoel's first 4 points of the quarter to give the hosts the lead once again, 56-54, but Childs nailed both of his free throws to tie the game, 56-56, with 8:40 left on the clock. The next basket came at the 6:48 mark, as Brown converted a two-pointer, 58-56. The teams proceeded to go back and forth in the closing stages, but Chinanu Onuaku scored 1 of his 2 free throws to ensure that it was level, 69-69, entering the fourth.
Hapoel put its foot on the gas to start the final period, going on a 6-0 run to open a 75-69 lead. Philipps hit back with a three-pointer with 7:17 remaining, 75-72, but Brown responded with a triple of his own to calm any nerves among Hapoel's passionate fan base, 78-72. Just as Hamburg had got to within 3 points, 80-77, a three-point play by Bar Timor – his first points of the night – kept the visitors at arm's length. Then, Munford struck from deep to make it a tough task even tougher for Hamburg, 86-77. The German team continued to fight until the end, but Onuaku's offensive rebound and assist for a Munford layup put the win on ice with 31.9 seconds remaining, 90-83. Hapoel went on to see a 91-85 victory over the line, as it further improved its chances of gaining home-court advantage.