Hapoel Jerusalem made sure to get its continental campaign off to a strong start, Hapoel Tel Aviv evened its Euroleague record, while Maccabi Tel Aviv remains winless.
Hapoel Jerusalem cruised past the Rostock Seawolves 94-73 as Kenny Lofton Jr. and Jaleen Smith starred to help the Reds to their first EuroCup victory of the 2026/27 season. Sasa Obradovic’s team scored early and often while finally putting the brakes on TJ Crockett Jr., who had been filling the basket from deep. Shake Milton, Devontae Cacok and Yovel Zoosman also made important contributions as Jerusalem took control early and never looked back.
Lofton finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Smith added 18 points and Milton scored 14 in the win. Crockett led Rostock with 22 points, while Zach Copeland added 15.
Jerusalem built an early advantage and led 25-18 after the opening quarter before extending its lead to 49-37 by halftime.
The Reds continued to pull away in the third quarter, with Smith and Lofton leading the way, and entered the final period with a 73-54 advantage. Jerusalem then comfortably closed out the victory.
Jerusalem head coach Sasa Obradovic looked back at the victory.
“This was a good win, but it’s early and we are not playing yet at our best. But a win like this now means a lot for our confidence. We still need better communication out of timeouts with better ideas. We missed Jared Harper and when Lorenzo Brown is ready we will have another guard to help out.”
Lofton was pleased to begin the season with a victory.
“It feels great with a new team, new coach, we’re excited and it feels great to win. I do my job, I come here to play and win. I bring energy to the table and we will continue to get better.”
Smith also reflected on the team’s strong start while looking ahead to Sunday’s showdown with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“It’s one step in this long journey, but we got off to a good start. Now our focus is on Sunday against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Harper is injured, so I’m here to organize the offense, and as one of the veterans, that’s my role. We can’t rely on me alone, but tonight was my night. Next time, it will be someone else. We’re a team.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv downs Red Star Belgrade
Meanwhile, Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Red Star Belgrade 81-80 as Elijah Bryant recorded a double-double and Vasilije Micic hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers down the stretch to give the Reds their first Euroleague win of the season and even their continental record at 1-1.
Hapoel will next face Real Madrid at its temporary home base in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad built an early lead behind Bryant and Zach LeDay and held a 45-35 advantage at halftime. Red Star remained within striking distance throughout the second half, but Hapoel held its nerve down the stretch, with Micic’s late 3-pointers helping secure the victory.
Bryant scored 18 points, while Blakeney and LeDay added 12 apiece. Micic finished with 11 points. Jared Butler led Red Star with 16 points, Jordan Nwora scored 13 and Tyson Carter added 12.
Hapoel head coach Dimitrios Itoudis was pleased with the character his team showed.
“Very big win, it was a statement for us and a character win. We controlled the game for most of the time. We played almost 35 minutes with ball movement and team basketball, but then with five minutes left we wanted to get to the end, but we needed to get there.”
Bryant, who was named the game’s MVP, also stressed that Hapoel still has room to improve.
“I watch the film and see where I can get better, but there are a lot of things that we can fix. It starts with defense and it’s a credit to coach and the players for sticking together.”
In Belgrade, Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Besiktas 109-93 as Scottie Wilbekin overwhelmed his former club, helping the visitors to the victory and dropping the yellow-and-blue to 0-2 to begin the season.
Besiktas came out firing and built a six-point halftime lead before pulling away in the second half. Wilbekin and Anthony Brown led the way from beyond the arc, while Devon Dotson also made a major contribution as the Turkish side secured the victory.
Bonzie Colson scored 17 points and Jimmy Clark added 15 for Maccabi. Wilbekin and Brown each scored 20 points for Besiktas, Dotson added 17 and Conor Morgan finished with 13.
Maccabi trailed 27-19 after the opening quarter and managed to stay within striking distance through halftime, when Besiktas led 52-46. However, Brown and Wilbekin helped Besiktas take control in the third quarter, with the Turkish side entering the final period with a 78-63 advantage before closing out the win.
Maccabi looking to bounce back against Greece
Maccabi will look to bounce back when it visits Panathinaikos on Friday night.
Maccabi head coach Oded Katash made no secret of his disappointment, particularly with his team’s defensive struggles and lack of chemistry.
“It was a bad game. I’m focusing on the first half. They shot the ball extremely well from beyond the arc, but as the game went on, we lost our confidence and our body language deteriorated. It’s a very disappointing loss. We didn’t expect this and we’ll have to bounce back. In two days, we’ll need to respond very quickly.”
Oshae Brissett also called for a better start from Maccabi.
“After a loss, what can you really say? We simply have to start games better. I think it was the same story in both the first and second games. We have to get off to better starts and personally, I need to play much harder. I felt we gave up too much on both ends of the floor, so we just have to play with a lot more intensity.”
See more Israeli sports coverage at www.sportsrabbi.com/en
