Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv secured its first EuroLeague victory of the season by holding off Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 81-80 on Tuesday at Belgrade Arena.
After losing to FC Bayern Munich in Round 1, Hapoel responded with a composed road performance, building an early lead before surviving a late comeback attempt from the hosts. The victory moved Dimitris Itoudis’ team to 1-1, while Crvena Zvezda dropped to 0-2.
Elijah Bryant led Hapoel with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. The four steals matched his EuroLeague career high in the category, while his 31 PIR was the highest total of the game.
Bryant scored six points in the opening four minutes as Hapoel established a double-digit advantage. Crvena Zvezda fought back in the second quarter and briefly took its first lead at 35-34, but it proved to be the home team’s only advantage of the game.
Hapoel immediately answered with a 13-0 run and carried control into the second half. Zvezda continued to battle, but the visitors maintained their advantage through much of the final two quarters.
Hapoel led 80-70 with less than 90 seconds remaining after Vasilije Micic had helped create separation with a pair of three-pointers. Crvena Zvezda then made a late push, but could not complete the comeback.
Micic finished with 11 points and four assists, while Antonio Blakeney and Zach LeDay each scored 12 points. Tomas Satoransky added eight points and three assists.
Crvena Zvezda was led by Jared Butler, who scored 19 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting. Tyson Carter added 12 points, while Jordan Nwora scored 13.
Former Hapoel players Chris Jones and Johnathan Motley struggled against their former team. Jones scored six points, while Motley finished with two points.
Hapoel shot 30% from three-point range and 73.3% from the free-throw line, while its defense limited Zvezda to 28.6% shooting from beyond the arc. The visitors also held a 38-51 disadvantage on the boards but committed only six turnovers compared with 13 for the hosts.
Hapoel will host Real Madrid on Thursday, while Crvena Zvezda welcomes Anadolu Efes the same day.
