Hapoel Tel Aviv with a comfortable home win against Ulcinj

Hapoel Tel Aviv achieved their third win in Group B of the 2011/2012 EUROHOLD Balkan League, after a home beating Montenegrin side KK Ulcinj 75:68 at home in Hadar Yosef.
 
Ulcinj′s Dragomir Marojevic scored the opening basket of the night for 0:2, but it was the home side that got off to a better start, as they quickly scored seven unanswered points in order to get a 7:2 lead. Hapoel didn′t let their lead slip away until the very end of the first quarter when they managed to extend it to double digits - 21:10 after 10 minutes of play.
 
The visitors started the second quarter with a 6:0 run, cutting their deficit to single digits again - 21:16. Yotam Shiran and Milos Djurisic exchanged baskets and the score was 23:19 - just four points more for the home team, but that was the closest Ulcinj could get to in the second period, as they didn′t score a basket for the next four and a half minutes, while Hapoel scored 11 points, extending their lead to 15 - 34:19 two minutes before halftime. After 20 minutes of basketball in Hadar Yosef the teams headed for the halftime break as the score was 41:24 in favor of Hapoel Tel Aviv.
 
Hapoel maintained their lead in the opening minutes of the third period, as in their first offense of the second half they made the difference 20 points, after Demontez Stitt scored a three for 44:24. Nothing really changed in the following moments, as halfway throught the third quarter Hapoel held an 18-point advantage - 52:34 with 5.06 left in the period. Ulcinj still didn′t give up, as they made a run of 11 unanswered points in the next two minutes, bringing the gap down to 7 points-  52:45. However after 30 minutes Hapoel still had a comfortable lead - 62:45, as they finished the quarter with a run of 10:0.

Less than two minutes after the start of the fourth quarter Hapoel had their biggest lead so far - 67:45. Erez Edelshtein′s team dictated the tempo in almost the entire fourth period, as only a late run by Ulcinj in the closing few minutes decreased the difference, before both teams settled for the final score of 75:68 and Hapoel Tel Aviv′s third win in the EUROHOLD Balkan League.
 
Experienced forward Matan Naor led Hapoel in scoring with 18 points, as he also added 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot to his statline. Yonathan Skjoldebrand scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, while veteran Cory Carr also had 10 points along with 5 assists. Aviram Zelkovits was the last Hapoel player to score in double digits, as the 22-year old guard scored 10 points, coming off the bench.
 
Marko Milatovic was the top perfomer for Ulcinj - 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Boban Medenica added 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Dragomir Marojevic finished the game with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Milos Djurisic was one rebound shy of a double-double - 11 points and 9 boards.
 
BC Hapoel Tel Aviv are first in Group B with a balance of 3-1, while KK Ulcinj is fourth with 1-3.
 
In their next game Hapoel are traveling to Mostar, where they will face local side HKK Zrinjski on the 13th of December, while KK Ulcinj are playing KK Napredak Rubin in Krusevac on the 14th of December.