Hapoel Haifa is currently hosting Hapoel Jerusalem as part of the fifth round of the Winner Basket League. Both teams come into the match having achieved important away wins in the European fixtures.
Hapoel Jerusalem recovered from the two away losses at the beginning of the league with two consecutive home victories, 60:69 over Hapoel Gilboa Galil and 68:82 over Hapoel Eilat. Zach Hankins excelled with 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. On Tuesday, Aleksandar Džikić’s team achieved a third consecutive victory in all competitions, a dramatic 71:72 in Denmark over Bakken Bears in the Champions League, thanks to a dunk victory by Marks Meiris in the final seconds.
Hapoel Haifa returned to a positive balance in the previous round with the help of a dramatic away victory, 85:87 at the end of overtime over Bnei Herzliya. Anthony Hickey, who scored the winning basket, was selected as the best player of the season with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, Jaylen Jones led the team’s scorers with 21 points. In Eurocup, Sharon Drucker’s team achieved a third victory in a row in the factory with a great 69:79 in Turkey over Gaziantep.
The last game between the teams ended in a Jerusalem victory, 67:80. The Reds from Carmel have an amazing home record of 2:25 all time against the team from the capital in the regular league.
First quarter: 16:17 Hapoel Jerusalem
The Hapoel Haifa quintet: Anthony Hickey, Kadeem Allen, Amit Simhon, Devonta Upson and Jaylen Jones.
Hapoel Jerusalem Quintet: Speedy Smith, Levi Randolph, Orr Cornelius, Marcus Myris and Zach Hankins.
Kadeem Allen did not hesitate and scored the first three-pointer after a few seconds of the start of the game. Livai Randolph took advantage of confusion in the defense of the Reds from Carmel in order to score Jerusalem’s first three-pointer of the game. Zach Hankins gave the visitors the first lead of the game after four minutes. Hapoel Haifa’s 0:8 run caused Aleksandar Džikić to call the first timeout of the game. The group from the capital responded to the run of the home team with a 0:6 run of their own and returned to tie the game. Marks Meiris put the Jerusalemites ahead after a long time without a basket and determined the result of the quarter, 16:17 to Hapoel Jerusalem at the end of the first 10 minutes.
Second quarter: 29:36 to Hapoel Jerusalem
Itai Segev opens the second quarter with a powerful dunk that puts the guests ahead by four points. Both teams fail to find the back of the net at the start of the second quarter, despite losses on both sides. The successful cooperation between Marks Meiris and Speedy Smith bore fruit and left the Jerusalemites in the lead after a basket by the Latvian. Itai Segev took a rebound over the Hapoel Haifa defense and put two more in the net. Amit Simhon entered the game with the first three-pointer after 18 minutes of basketball. Kadeem Allen went to the line for three free throws, made two of the three shots and recorded the score of the half, 29:36 to Hapoel Jerusalem at the end of the half.
Third quarter: 52:56 to Hapoel Jerusalem
Amit Simhon scored his second 3-pointer of the game at the start of the third quarter and Leviai Randolph returned on the other end with two points for the guests. The Jerusalemites play much more open and the cooperation between Hankins and Meiris gives them a breathing space. Speedy Smith increased the difference to seven points for the group from the capital city but immediately after that Amit Simhon scored a third three-pointer in the game. Smith began to warm up and score points that left the visitors with a two point lead. Kadeem Allen and Levi Randolph exchanged three-pointers from side to side and the Jerusalem advantage jumped to six, but Jaylen Jones scored a three-pointer of his own and reduced the difference to three points. The exciting third quarter is over, 52:56 to Hapoel Jerusalem before the start of the last quarter.
Fourth quarter:
The teams returned to the offensive problems of the beginning of the game and the Jerusalemites managed to take a nine-point lead mainly from the penalty line, but Amit Simhon was there to reduce the difference with another three-pointer, and Haifa’s first after three minutes in the quarter. The guests managed to escape to the lead towards the last minutes of the game and the difference had already grown to 11 points. Hapoel Haifa had no answers to the interior game of the guests from the capital who managed to increase the difference to 13 points with two minutes on the game clock.