Hapoel Jerusalem wins ULEB Cup Frankie Sachs April 14, 2004 Jerusalem Post Erez Katz joined Nadav Henefeld, Mickey Berkovic, and Tal Brody in Israeli and European basketball history on Tuesday night. The 24-year-old Jerusalemite and Hapoel Jerusalem captain was joined by Doron Sheffer to raise the ULEB Cup trophy after an 83-72 win over Real Madrid in the final in Charleroi, Belgium. When Hapoel Jerusalem needed him most, Will Solomon was on the bench with foul trouble. But Kelly McCarty, Tunji Awojobi, Ido Kozikaro, and Sheffer got the job done. Every player on the Hapoel roster was instrumental in the win, including Moshe Mizrahi, Amir Muchtary, Raviv Limonad, and Katz, who all made contributions from the bench. McCarty scored 15 points as Jerusalem pulled away during a 31-20 third quarter, and the reds from the capital never looked back. Madrid made a threatening fourth quarter run, led by rugged center Kaspars Kambala, but when the big Latvian fouled out with four minutes remaining, Real started to run out of steam. The win, Israel s first European title from a team other than Maccabi Tel Aviv, also guarantees Hapoel a spot in the continent's top club competition next season, the Euroleague. It could be the first of three European titles for Israel this month. Next week, Hapoel Tel Aviv will take part in the FIBA Champions Cup Final Four in Kazan, Russia. Maccabi Tel Aviv will host the Euroleague Final Four starting April 29. McCarty, the game s MVP, finished with 22 points, while Sheffer and Solomon added 15 each, and Awojobi had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kozikaro had seven points and nine boards, Mizrahi eight points, and Katz four. Jerusalem s big men matched the taller Spaniards on the glass (winning 35-33), shot 47 percent from three (9-of-19), and controlled the game's pace with 29 well-timed fouls, which never allowed Real to develop its famed transition game. Elmer Bennett led Madrid with 22 points and four assists. But the 12 fouls Hapoel committed against him prevented the little guard from taking over. Kambala finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, but Antonios Fotsis was not in form, adding 10 points, but missing seven of the eight three-pointers he attempted. Madrid started off pounding the ball inside and didn t take its first perimeter shot until Alberto Herreros missed a three after five minutes. Awojobi s second short jumper of the quarter put Hapoel up 9-6, but the Israelis soon faced their first crisis when Sheffer and Solomon each picked up his second foul. With Sheffer and Solomon easing up on defense, Bennett dominated and scored six, dished two assist, and drew four fouls in the quarter, which ended tied at 15-15 following a pair of offensive fouls to Real s big men and a Solomon three. Jerusalem burst out in the second, thanks to its zone defense that saw Madrid miss its first six shots of the period five of them from beyond the arc. Solomon started a 9-0 run, but was soon on the bench with his third foul. Key contributions from Muchtary and Mizrahi helped make up the difference as Jerusalem took a 37-33 lead at the halftime break. McCarty hit a jumper and a pair of threes to start the third quarter and Hapoel was on its way to the title. Real captain Herreros fought back with a pair of jumpers, but a McCarty four-point play put Jerusalem up 52-42. The lead reached 13 when he made a free throw after an Awojobi jumper, and would peak at 66-49 when Sheffer drilled a pull-up jumper in the last minute of the third.