Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv is in seventh heaven and proudly sitting at the top of the EuroLeague with a 9-3 record after an 83-105 road drubbing of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Thursday, with the Israeli side fast becoming the envy of the competition with its high-tempo game.
The performance against Milan, which dropped to 6-6, left nothing to be desired as Hapoel demonstrated entertaining and high-scoring basketball with its pack leaders again coming to the fore in a ruthless destruction of the hosts, who were only able to cope in the first quarter.
From there on, it was a lop-sided contest and Hapoel’s efficiency will leave few teams fancying their chances against a well-oiled machine firing on all cylinders in its debut EuroLeague season.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis seem to have ticked all the boxes in assembling a talent-packed outfit, with Dan Oturu and Antonio Blakeney pacing Hapoel on 20 points each at Unipol Forum, the latter also grabbing 7 rebounds. Elijah Bryant added 18 points and big man Johnathan Motley chipped in with 17, while Vasilije Micic rounded up a smooth team effort with 13.