Hapoel Jerusalem wanted to put the troubles from the league aside when they hosted the German Ludwigsburg today (Wednesday) in the second round of the Champions League, but ended up disappointed and lost in the Arena 80:71, in a game in which they looked very bad from the first moment. In what was the team’s first loss from the capital city in the European framework in which the team plays.
In the game itself, Aleksandar Džikić’s team struggled from the start. With terrible percentages from all ranges (an outrageous 24-1 from beyond the arc), the Jerusalem team survived the first half tooth and nail but fell behind relatively, with the players’ body language looking tired and not suited to the game. The third quarter continued as the first half ended, with the Germans taking advantage of Jerusalem’s weaknesses to score 30 points in the third quarter alone. The team in white started the last 10 minutes of the game with momentum and energy and tried to reduce the difference, but was unable to close the gap and lost for the first time this season in the FIBA Champions League.
Hapoel Jerusalem looked very bad throughout the game and despite the difference that doesn’t seem big, the alarming ability of the players on both sides of the field is what will make Aleksandar Džikić start finding solutions to get out of the crisis his team is in.
In their next game, Hapoel Jerusalem will meet Rami Hadar’s Gilboa/Galil in the league, and will try to remove from it the signs of crisis that surround the team now and, of course, achieve their first league victory, and then they will meet Hapoel Eilat in a double week in the league. At the beginning of November, the team from the capital city will meet the Bakken Bears in the third round of the Champions League, and hopefully by then they will be on a new path.
Scored for Hapoel Jerusalem: Marks Meiris 19 points, Zach Hankins 18 points, Speedy Smith 12 points, Levi Randolph 10 points, Kadin Carrington 8 points, Oz Blazer and Noam Debrat 2 points each.
Scored for Ludwigsburg: Prentice Sr., Yurman Follas and Jonathan Dunn 14 points apiece, Isiah Whitehead 12 points, Justin Johnson 9 points, Eddie Edgin and Jeff Roberson 8 points apiece and Ben Shongo one point.
First quarter 16:18 Le Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem Quintet: Speedy Smith, Orr Cornelius, Levi Randolph, Sim Sander-Vena and Zach Hankins.
The Ludwigsburg Quintet: Prentice Sr., Jeff Roberson, Jonathan Dunn, Yurman Follas and Eddie Edgini.
Jonathan Dunn scored the first points of the game for Ludwigsburg after penetrating the Jerusalem defense. Livai Randolph scored Jerusalem’s first basket of the game from the other end. A great hall-hop between Speedy Smith and Zach Hankins gave Jerusalem the first lead of the match. Kadin Carrington entered the game and his presence was immediately felt as he took the ball straight to the ring. Zach Hankins continued Jerusalem’s dominance in the paint with two more. Zach Hankins got off to a great start scoring his sixth point of the game, while Jonathan Dunn hit another 3-pointer for the Germans. The first quarter ended in a defensive struggle between Livai Randolph who caught a ball and Noam Debrat Heritz an explosive attack that ended in a miss and set 16:18 to Hapoel Jerusalem at the end of the first 10 minutes.
Second quarter: 27:34 for Ludwigsburg
Less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Jerusalemites had already committed three team fouls. Prentiss Sr. hit Ludwigsburg’s third 3-pointer of the game and their first points of the second quarter overall, with the Reds scoreless after four minutes in the quarter. The father added a 3-pointer and made Džikić call a timeout. After 11 three-point attempts, Hapoel Jerusalem got on the board for the first time with a three-pointer by Speedy Smith. Marks Myers scored his first three points of the game and cut the gap to just two in favor of the Germans. Justin Johnson scored a three-pointer and returned the gap to five points for the visiting team. The terrible second quarter presented by the Reds ended with a relative advantage for the guests, 27:34 to Ludwigsburg.
Third quarter 45:64 for Ludwigsburg
Randolph opened the third quarter with points for the Jerusalemites, but the German team started the quarter well with nine straight points. Zach Hankins scored two tough points under the basket but missed the free throw that was whistled in his favor, and the Capital City team remained behind by a large margin midway through the third quarter. Marks Meiris finished off a great inning as he went coast to coast. The difference had already grown to 20 points when the Jerusalemites passed the 40 point mark only towards the end of the quarter. Myris finished strong in the ring again and reached 17 points in the game, after a great assist from Oz Blazer. The nightmarish third quarter for the Jerusalemites ended with a result 45:64 to Ludwigsburg.
Fourth quarter 71:80 for Ludwigsburg
Oz Blazer tried to lift the mood of his teammates and completed a great penetration with two points. The duo Smith and Hankins took advantage of a successful pick and roll that ended in another Halli-Hop, and managed to raise the mood of the crowd, who seemed at a loss. Aleksandar Džikić took a timeout in order to stimulate his players to the momentum they were able to create and try to reduce the difference towards the last minutes of the game. A great hally hop by the German team took the air out of the Jerusalem team. Speedy Smith continued to feed Hankins under the ring for easy points but defensively the Jerusalemites were unable to stop the German team. Kadin Carrington read the German defense well and finished with a dunk. In the last move of the game Nakins completed two more points. The disappointing game for the Jerusalem team ended in a result 80:71 for the German team.
