MakoSports09:33

Hapoel Jerusalem Dominates Holon in Season Opener

Translated & summarized from Mako by baba

CenterCharged tone

Hebrew · 4 newsrooms covering

Hapoel Jerusalem began their Winner Sal League season with a dominant 92-69 victory over Hapoel Holon on Sunday. The team's coach, Sasha Obradovic, highlighted the strong performance of Israeli players and the team's solid offense and defense. Newcomer Lorenzo Brown expressed confidence in his and teammate Jared Harper's abilities. Meanwhile, player Gabi Chachashvili is set to miss several weeks with an ankle injury.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Holon 92-69 in their opening Winner Sal League game.
Coach Sasha Obradovic praised the Israeli players' scoring and the team's overall solid play.
Lorenzo Brown discussed his role and the potential return of teammate Jared Harper.
Gabi Chachashvili will be sidelined for several weeks due to an ankle injury.
Jalen Smith and Kenny Lofton Jr. led Jerusalem with 15 points each.

Hapoel Jerusalem Dominates Holon in Season Opener — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Hapoel Jerusalem secured a decisive 92-69 victory over Hapoel Holon in their opening game of the Winner Sal League season on Sunday. The win came exactly one week after Jerusalem lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Toto Hall in the quarterfinals of the Winner Cup.

The Jerusalem team, coached by Sasha Obradovic, controlled the game throughout but pulled away definitively in the second half, outscoring Holon 49-32. This victory marks an impressive 1-0 start for Jerusalem in the domestic league. They will aim to maintain their perfect record in the EuroCup on Wednesday when they travel to face Burgos in Spain, before returning home for a game against Hapoel Beer Sheva/Dimona.

Jalen Smith and Kenny Lofton Jr. led Jerusalem with 15 points each, while Eitan Burg and Nimrod Levi, who added 12 points, also had notable performances. "It was very important that our Israeli players scored 29 points," Obradovic stated post-game. "We made some improvement, we were solid on offense and did a good job on defense. I'm happy with the way we played the game. We now have a long trip to Spain."

Regarding new signing Lorenzo Brown, Obradovic commented, "Lorenzo will be one of the key factors in our game. He is not where we want him to be, and where he wants to be. Today we had 21 assists, which is a good part of our game, along with the rebounds, but in the second half he found the right people." Brown himself spoke about replacing Jared Harper, noting their shared neighborhood background and expressing excitement about potentially playing alongside Harper upon his return.

Brown described Harper as unchanged, quiet but communicative when needed, and a hard worker who will help the team when he returns from a thumb injury. "It's going to be really uncomfortable for him at first," Brown added, "but he works hard. He wants to be great and I think he will be."

In other team news, Gabi Chachashvili is expected to be sidelined for the coming weeks due to an ankle injury, according to Hapoel Jerusalem officials.