Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv players came up with a strong effort in beating Umana Reyer Venice on the road despite heavy hearts about the situation back in the team's homeland.
Hapoel prevailed despite heavy hearts



Hapoel has not practiced much recently and its BKT EuroCup Round 2 game was postponed. Still the Israeli side defeated Reyer 81-97 in a game that was originally scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv.
"For us it was a tough day to focus on basketball," Hapoel head coach Danny Franco said. "Everything was very weird for us. Basketball players – imports and Israelis – are all on the same team. We didn't play basketball for a couple of weeks and we haven't been together. Mainly coming here was getting everybody back together.
"Our job was not to come and win the game. Our job was to come and do whatever we can – regarding effort, regarding commitment, regarding determination to win the game. That was our desire."
Hapoel excelled especially on offense, scoring 97 points against a Reyer team which conceded only 150 points in its first two losses. Hapoel scored 56 points in the second half, when it registered 14 of its 21 assists and made 9 of 10 three-pointers.
"We didn't play the best basketball we can. We didn't have the flow in our game. Even defensively it was not a great game. But in a situation like that I have to respect my players' effort. They did their best and it was enough to beat a very good team and a very well-coached team," Franco added.
Hapoel came into the season with high expectations of going deep into the EuroCup playoffs and even hoping to raise the trophy. By putting together a performance like this on the road with heavy hearts and minds, the team definitely should be considered a serious challenger for the rest of the season.