Hapoel Jerusalem opens Winner League with Win

Hapoel Jerusalem opened the Israeli Winner league 2014-15 regular season in style with an impressive 76-58 victory over Maccabi Bazan Haifa. At the onset both teams played on an even field, matching each other’s scoring point for point and ending the first quarter tied at 21-21. Hapoel Jerusalem, with coach Danny Franco at the helm, managed to outscore Maccabi Haifa in the second frame and headed to the locker rooms with 41-36 edge.

Maccabi Haifa was having trouble converting from the outside in the first half and it carried over into the third and fourth periods. They finished the game shooting at a poor 3-of-25 clip from three-point range. Hapoel Jerusalem was the more accurate team from beyond the arc, making six of their 15 shots from downtown. The turning point of the game came in the third period, Hapoel Jerusalem pulled away while limiting Maccabi Haifa to just nine points. Maccabi Haifa was not able to recover and Hapoel Jerusalem held on in the fourth period to seal the win.

Bracey Wright led Hapoel Jerusalem with 19 points and five assists. Derwin Kitchen and Lior Eliyahu contributed 11 and 10 points respectively in the win. For Maccabi Haifa’s side, Hector Hernandez, Alex Chubrevich, and Jeff Allen scored 10 points each.