Hapoel cruises to another victory in the Israeli League

Coach Itoudis's charges remain undefeated in the domestic competiton at 6-0

Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv continued its dominant start to the Israeli League season with a convincing 70-93 road win over Elitzur Netanya on Saturday night. The victory kept Dimitris Itoudis’s squad unbeaten at 6–0 in domestic play as they look ahead to a EuroLeague showdown with Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Tyler Ennis led Hapoel with 17 points, Ish Wainright added 14 points and 5 rebounds, Jonathan Motley scored 13, and Itay Segev contributed 12 points and 9 boards. For Netanya, Semaj Christon had 17 points, Shaq Buchanan 14, and Otis Fraser 12 with 6 rebounds.

The opening quarter was competitive despite early turnovers by the hosts. Hapoel jumped ahead 5-10 after a Motley basket, but Netanya fought back with athletic plays to trail just 16-21after 10 minutes. The second quarter proved decisive. Following an early Netanya basket, Hapoel erupted on a 0-15 run led by Chris Jones, stretching the margin to double digits. Two three-pointers from Oz Blayzer and strong defense pushed the gap to 20 points. At halftime, the visitors led 29-46, with Jones and Bar Timor pacing the offense.

The third quarter maintained the status quo as Hapoel’s advantage grew. Motley and Ennis shone for the visitors, while Buchanan and Christon tried to keep Netanya afloat. A late three-pointer by Wainright capped the period at 47-70. The final quarter was largely garbage time. Netanya trimmed the deficit briefly with a 0-8 spurt, but Ennis halted the momentum, and Hapoel cruised to a 70-93 win.

After the game, Itoudis praised his team’s focus despite a grueling travel schedule: “We were serious, came with the right approach, and were the better team on the court.”