Hapoel Jerusalem Recovers With EuroCup Win After League Cup Loss

Hapoel Jerusalem bounced back from their loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Winner Cup semifinals with a 75-64 victory over Ljubljana in their second EuroCup game. Serbian center Dušan Melić, who was not on the roster for the previous game, led the team with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Melić commented on the team's performance, stating, "In the last quarter and the second half overall they started to play hard but we showed character here, we answered them. The key was that we brought our physicality and that's what won us the game." His frontcourt partner, Devontee Kekock, added 6 points and 7 rebounds, acknowledging areas for improvement. "We can improve every game, it became messy, we can be more organized but we managed to fill the gap and win. We can communicate better, make sure we don't make many mistakes like today. Our schedule is sometimes busy and there's no time to prepare, but we have great players and excellent coaches who do their homework and in the next games we will be better. I feel great in Jerusalem, we have great fans and many of them came to support us today."

Coach Saša Obradović described the game as not particularly high-quality from either side but expressed satisfaction with the win after two difficult days of travel and a tough game. "You could see our lack of concentration, we are looking for our chemistry, but even in these circumstances I believe we will be very good. Very happy with the win and the effort of the players. Lorenzo Brown's debut? We will be a very good team."