Latvian basketball club Rīgas Zeļļi absorbed a heavy 64-100 defeat against Hapoel Jerusalem in Belgrade during the fourth round of the EuroCup group stage, lsm.lv reported. Playing away from home in Serbia on Wednesday evening, the visitors struggled to contain an offensive onslaught from the Israeli side, falling behind early and failing to close the gap.
Early Lead Fades Under Hapoel Scoring Run
Rīgas Zeļļi started the match with aggressive intent, briefly jumping ahead 8-4 in the opening minutes, according to reports. However, Hapoel responded swiftly with an eight-point run to seize control of the tempo. By halftime, the Latvian team faced a daunting 36-50 deficit.
Rolands Šulcs sparked a brief resurgence at the start of the second half by sinking a pair of quick three-pointers, cutting the deficit to 48-60. Despite the effort, Saša Obradoviča’s squad steadily widened their margin as the game progressed, cruising to a comfortable victory.
Varnam and Šulcs Lead Scoring for Rīgas Zeļļi
Martīnam Varnam and Rolands Šulcs led the scoring for Rīgas Zeļļi with 12 points apiece, while Varnam also grabbed five rebounds, as detailed by jauns.lv match statistics.
On the opposing side, Hapoel capitalized on dominant displays from Kenny Lofton, who posted 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists, alongside Dušan Miletič, who added 17 points and seven rebounds.
Standings and Group A Realities
Following Wednesday’s results, Group A features Aris Thessaloniki and Hapoel tied at the top with four wins from four matches. Rīgas Zeļļi holds a 2-2 record, matching Le Mans and Tortona Derthona. San Pablo Burgos and Rostock Seawolves each hold one victory, while Olimpija Ljubljana sits at the bottom with four consecutive losses.
Rīgas Zeļļi entered the EuroCup campaign as the first Latvian club to participate in the tournament since 2015. Their earlier group matches included an 86-84 home win against Italy’s Tortona Derthona, a narrow 86-87 away loss to Germany’s Rostock Seawolves, and an 89-79 home victory over Olimpija Ljubljana.
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