Hapoel Tel Aviv Faces Red Star in Belgrade Looking for First EuroLeague Win
Hapoel Tel Aviv faces Red Star in Belgrade aiming to recover from its opening EuroLeague defeat, while dealing with key roster absences and a demanding upcoming schedule.
Hapoel Tel Aviv's EuroLeague campaign continues on Tuesday at 21:00 at the Belgrade Arena in Serbia, where the Reds will face Red Star. Both teams enter the match following home defeats in the opening round, with the Serbians losing to Zalgiris Kaunas and Hapoel falling to Bayern Munich.
Hapoel arrived in Belgrade on Sunday evening and will hold its final training session ahead of the clash. The team has undergone several video briefings focusing on the opponent's strengths and the mistakes made during the loss to Bayern.
Roster Updates and Challenges
Hapoel will play without Amir Coffey, who continues to miss time due to a calf injury, and Tamir Blatt, who did not travel with the squad. Head coach Dimitris Itoudis is weighing whether to dress Kadeen Carrington, who sat out the Bayern opener but performed well against Hapoel Beersheba.
Hapoel understands that its relative advantage against Red Star lies in the frontcourt. The team will need peak performance from Dan Oturu, while Tai Odiase is expected to see more minutes than he did against the German side.
Tough Schedule Ahead
Following the match against Red Star, Hapoel will travel to Sofia to face Real Madrid on Thursday, before returning to Israel on Friday in a full squad to play in the Winner Cup semifinals.
Red Star enters this season with significant changes, notably Spanish coach Joan Peñarroya on the sidelines. New additions include former Hapoel players Chris Jones and Jonathan Motley, alongside Nick Weiler-Babb and Patrick Baldwin, who is doubtful due to illness.
"We need to correct our mistakes from the previous game and focus on our strengths under the basket," noted team staff ahead of the crucial matchup.
Chima Moneke is also listed as doubtful due to illness, with decisions on both players expected closer to tip-off. Key returning players for Red Star include Jared Butler, Jordan Nwora, Semi Ojeleye, and center Ibou Dianko Badji.
