Better late than never: Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem grab first win with only two games left
JERUSALEM (Israel) - With their back against the wall in a must-win game, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem got their first win of the Basketball Champions League season, defeating Arged BM Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski 83-76.
The atmosphere in Jerusalem was raucous as always thanks to the passionate fans inside Pais Arena.
This atmosphere never disappoints ❤🖤#BasketballCL #yallahapoel I @JerusalemBasket pic.twitter.com/4lMlOLSrBr
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) November 10, 2021
This was Yotam Halperin's first game as the interim head coach for Jerusalem after the team parted ways with Oren Amiel.
Turning point: After being down by as many as 12 points, Jerusalem came storming back with a season-high 28 points in the third quarter to take a 62-58 lead heading to the final frame.
Jerusalem have now won four of their five home games in which they were losing by 10+ points in BCL history.
Jerusalem outscored Ostrow 49-34 in the second half and were able to pull out the win, despite only leading for 6:35.
Game hero: Retin Obasohan led the way for Jerusalem with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 6-of-13 from the field.
He had a game-high efficiency rating of 22.
The 28-year-old Belgian guard joined Marco Spissu as players to have multiple games with 20+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists in the BCL since the start of the 2020-21 season.
Stats don't lie: Jerusalem dominated in bench points (36-21), as Jalen Adams (13 points), Willy Workman (11 points) and Adam Ariel (9 points) combined for 33 of those points.
Jerusalem also outscored Ostrow 36-18 in points in the paint and 15-7 in second chance points, thanks to a 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
Bottom line: Ostrow's Kobi Simmons scored a game-high 21 points and has now scored 20+ points in his last three BCL games.
He is one of just three players to have scored 20 or more points in 3+ games in the competition joining DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Jerrick Harding.
Jerusalem are now 1-3 and sit in last place in Group B.
The Israeli club will travel to face Pinar Karsiyaka next on Dec. 6.
Ostrow are also now 1-3 and sit in third place in the group, still ahead of Jerusalem because they are +4 in head-to-head points in their two meetings this season.
The Polish club will host undefeated BAXI Manresa next on Dec. 7.
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