Hapoel Jerusalem Optimistic After EuroCup Win

Hapoel Jerusalem maintained a perfect record in the EuroCup's second round, securing a 75-64 road victory against Ljubljana on Tuesday. This win follows their loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Winner Cup semifinals just two days prior. The Israeli team, coached by Sasha Obradovic, now holds a 2-0 record in Group A.

Hapoel Jerusalem led throughout the game, at one point establishing an 17-point advantage. Despite the win, Obradovic and his players will likely focus on improving their 20 turnovers and their 62.9% free-throw shooting, having made 22 out of 35 attempts. Player Yuval Sussman acknowledged the importance of the win but stressed the team's need to move forward, noting that while they didn't play "amazing basketball," they "take the win." He expressed confidence in the team's potential, stating, "We have room to improve with our talent level, we can play better." Sussman highlighted strong defensive play for most of the game and optimism for offensive improvement, adding, "as I said, there is a quality squad."

Jerusalem is looking to build on the positive performances of David Rudin, who scored 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, and Dusan Miletic, who contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds. The team's offense struggled, failing to score more than 20 points in any quarter during a relatively weak offensive showing. Newcomer Lorenzo Brown had a modest debut, scoring 4 points and dishing out 4 assists in 15 minutes. Players Roi Huber and Gabi Chachashvili did not participate in the game.