JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- International basketball returned to Israel on Tuesday evening after more than two years of hiatus, with Hapoel Jerusalem beating German side Hamburg Towers 86-76 in Group A of the EuroCup.

The win saw Jerusalem move to first place in the 10-team group, with an 8-2 win-loss record, while Hamburg remained winless in ten games.

International sport in Israel was halted following the outbreak of the country's war with Hamas in October 2023, forcing Israeli teams to play their home games in neutral venues across Europe.

Khadeen Carrington led Jerusalem to a 27-21 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The gap was increased to 45-34 at the 18th minute, thanks to points by Cassius Winston.

Hamburg cut the deficit to 57-53 in the 24th minute, and remained in the game by the end of the third quarter trailing 64-57, but Dmytro Skapintsev and Winston helped Jerusalem secure the win with a 14-2 run early in the decisive quarter.

Winston scored a game-high 21 points, while Carrington added 19. Jared Harper scored 17 for Jerusalem, while Skapintsev logged eight points and 12 rebounds.

Devon Daniels and Zacharie Perrin scored 16 points each for Hamburg.

After 18 rounds of matches, the top two teams of the two groups will advance directly to the EuroCup quarterfinals, while those ranked 3rd to 6th will play in the round of 16. ■