Hapoel Jerusalem wins the game, but loses Coach Dzikic

Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Haifa 88-68 in Israel Premier League action over the weekend as Yovel Zoosman notched his career high in points with 24 to help his squad to the win.

However, the bigger news coming out of the Jerusalem camp was that head coach Aleksandar and the club have parted ways due to the ongoing war, and the Reds are now in the market to mint a new bench boss in the upcoming days with the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 group stage set to begin during the last week of January.

Dzikic was appointed as the head coach back in the summer of 2022 and helped lead the club to the Israel State Cup as well as to the BCL Final, where it ultimately succumbed to Bonn in a one-game, winner-take-all matchup that was held in Malaga.

Remembering past times

The Serbian will be remembered in the capital for his unique style, character, and care for his players from the first day they came together.

After capturing the 2023 preseason tournament this past September with a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, things looked as rosy as ever, with most of the players from last year’s squad returning for another run at glory. But with the outbreak of war, all of the cards were flipped, with the team setting up base in Belgrade but also having to play back in Israel, which led to the ultimate parting of ways.

On the court against Hapoel Haifa, the capital city Reds came out flying on all cylinders from long distance as Zoosman got off to a hot start with a trio of triples to set the tone for the hosts, which grabbed a 10-point lead after the opening frame and never looked back to take the victory.

Zoosman dropped 24 points, Levi Randolph added 15 points, Chris Johnson and Zach Hankins each scored 13 points, and Speedy Smith scored 10 points while adding 11 assists and seven rebounds in the win.

“It was a positive game from us on the defensive end,” assistant coach Shai Olerarczyk said. “That has been our identity for the last two years, and we got back to our basics and what anchors us. When our defense works, we are in the spot where we need to be.”

“We played a team that is in a totally different place than we are, and we are still trying to find ourselves,” Hapoel Haifa coach Guy Goodes said. “It’s very hard for me to judge this game due to that reason. Jerusalem may play without an experienced head coach, but they have played together for a couple of years with Speedy Smith running the show.”

Meanwhile, in continental competition, Maccabi Tel Aviv was crushed by Fenerbahce 109-74 as Scottie Wilbekin came back to haunt his former club in the blowout win.

The yellow-and-blue’s former star guard got off to a fast start along with another ex-Maccabier in Tyler Dorsey and never let up as they scored in bunches. Georgios Papagiannis did the damage on the inside in a 35-9 second quarter for the Turkish side to break away and never look back in the victory.

Next up for the 11-8 Maccabi is yet another Euroleague double week, where it will host Bologna at its home-away-from-home in Serbia and then play on the road at Partizan Belgrade.

Dorsey scored 18 points, Jonathan Motley added 17 points while Wilbekin and Papagiannis each scored 14 points in the win. Bonzie Colson and Wade Baldwin each scored 13 points for Maccabi in the loss.

Pushing forward in the game

“We were not there from the first minute,” Maccabi head coach Oded Katash said. “We had almost zero energy and we didn’t play the right way, not on offense nor defensively. We got to give Fener credit. They made us pay on almost every mistake and for a big part of the game. It was a little embarrassing and when these things happen, I have to take it on me. It starts with me and we have to learn from that and keep our heads up, but we have a lot of things to learn, especially mentality.”

Back in Israeli league play, Maccabi Ramat Gan downed Hapoel Holon 76-65 as Jordan Cohen and Alex Hamilton proved to be unstoppable throughout the entire game to help the hosts to the win.

The game got off to a hot start with both teams going back and forth on the Zisman Arena court while tempers flared early and often, but the new “Jewish” Jordan hit his shots from deep while Hamilton drove to the basket time and again to notch the victory.

Cohen led the way with 23 points, Hamilton added 22 points and nine rebounds while Adam Ariel and Karam Mashour each had eight points in the win. Shawn Dawson, with 15 points, and Deondre Burns (14 points) paced Holon in the loss.

“The defense was very good and that is what won the game for us,” Ramat Gan bench boss Shmulik Brenner said. “We had the right energy from the start and we did have a tough week of practice when we were going only 4-on-4 due to injuries. But we really wanted this win.”

“It was an awful game,” Holon coach Amit Sherf began. “We started aggressively but we weren’t there for 40 minutes.  There are games where you can change the momentum but it’s tough when the two guards are dominant.”

Holon forward Netanel Artzi spoke about the defeat and the upcoming BCL Play-In Game 2 in Belgium.

“We got behind on some small things, 50/50 balls and running the floor. It was just a poor game from us as a team after the win against Oostende. We need to bring the energy from the get-go and Ramat Gan had 12 days to get ready for us. We are really focused on this game back in Israel, but it’s still a process and we need to come in ready to go. Oostende are a good team and we have to come in ready to go in Belgium to finish off the series.”

Elsewhere, Hapoel Afula slipped by Hapoel Galil Elyon 109-107 in double overtime as seven players scored in double digits for the hosts to snag the slim victory.

In a back-and-forth affair that saw countless clutch baskets, including a game-tying triple from Spencer Weisz at the end of the first extra session, which led to Muriel Lutaty’s heroics in the second overtime to hand Roie Perel’s Afula team the win.

Weiss scored 18 points, Marcellus Earlington added 17 points, Noam Avivi checked in with 15 points while Lutaty, Lucas Goldenberg and Tomer Assayag all scored 13 points in the win. Omar Silverio dropped 28 points for Galil Elyon and James Feldeine scored 25 points in the loss.