If Hapoel Jerusalem’s 101–94 loss to Manresa in the EuroCup wasn’t enough, the team endured an especially dramatic night in Spain, far from the basketball court.
Immediately after the game, the team was forced to move to another hotel after more than 2,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators surrounded the hotel where they were staying in Barcelona. The players were relocated under heavy security.
The saga around the team’s accommodation began two weeks earlier, when a hotel near the Manresa arena canceled its booking for the team citing "security concerns."
Hapoel staff tried to find alternatives nearby but were rejected by every hotel in the area. Ultimately, the team had to stay in a hotel in Barcelona, about an hour and 15 minutes away from the arena, forcing the cancellation of a scheduled morning shootaround practice session due to the complex logistics.
On game day, police asked the team to split into three buses to ease traffic flow and prevent blockades by protesters. As the convoy departed the hotel, clashes broke out nearby, with protesters trying to approach the buses before being blocked by police.
Later, during the game, the team was informed it would not be able to return to their hotel as the crowd had located it and gathered there again. Following frantic efforts, a new hotel was found, and the team was moved there late at night under tight security that included a police escort and a helicopter overhead.
3 View gallery
The demonstrations outside the arena in Manresa, before the game against Hapoel Jerusalem
(Photo: Josep LAGO / AFP)
Frustration on the court
As for the game itself, Jerusalem dropped to 1–2 record in the EuroCup standings. The team squandered a 13-point lead in the third quarter and lost focus entirely in the fourth. Their defense faltered, allowing the Spanish side to score 32 points in the final quarter. Head coach Yonatan Alon, who was visibly frustrated with the officiating, was ejected from the game.
“Congratulations to Manresa on the win,” Alon said afterward. “But if one of their players tells me outright that he’s flopping, and the referees still send them to the line 40 times, that says it all.”
The club is particularly concerned about the Forward Yovel Zoosman, who finished the game scoreless, shooting 0-for-7 from the field. In his 30 minutes on the court, he added just three rebounds and committed one turnover.
His struggles, dating back to the European Championship, have continued despite being “back in a familiar setting,” as one Hapoel insider described his return to the team nearly a month ago. Zoosman appears lacking in confidence, and despite hopes he would regain form by now, things aren’t working for him professionally.
The team’s frontcourt saw the return of Austin Wiley, who had missed a week of training following the birth of his son. The center scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in a modest performance.
Meanwhile, forward Anthony Lamb, who arrived with high expectations, continues to underperform. He scored just two points in the win over Ness Ziona and five against Manresa, still not delivering the offensive impact he showed at Trento.
Center Dima Skapintsev played only two minutes, further weakening the team’s defensive effort.
The team is set to return to Israel Thursday, and will head straight into another road game Saturday night (7:50 p.m.) against Hapoel Holon as part of the second round of the Israeli Premier League.