The quarterfinals of the State Cup kicked off today in the intriguing meeting between Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Holon. In a nostalgic reconstruction of one of the great finals of the current millennium, the 2009 final, in which Holon won in the last second from a three by Brian Tolbert. In total, the two teams met four times in the cup, with the balance standing at 2: 2.
For this game, the two teams have the opposite momentum: Holon with five consecutive league victories, while Maccabi Haifa with five consecutive losses – closes the table with a balance of 9: 1 and can feel in danger of relegation. In the league game between the two, Holon unconditionally defeated the Greens, 69: 105, when the players of Stefanos Dadas equaled the historic three-point record in the league.
Haifa, as mentioned, arrives hunched over for this game – after a week in which they lost in the derby and also surrendered to Ness Ziona on Thursday. The club hopes that through the trophy they will be able to embark on a new path, although in light of the development of the season so far, staying in the league has become the main goal. Avi Ben Shimol, who has not been a partner in the last two games, is in great doubt.
The quarter-final of the cup against Holon begins in Romema!
The quintet in green and white: Naor, Rigo, Taylor, Donta and Roman pic.twitter.com/Ad4ZGfNzDW
– Maccabi Haifa Basketball (@MaccabiHaifaBC) January 2, 2021
the progress of the game:
Maccabi Haifa started well, when Holon’s defense failed to get along with Donta Smith, who scored four easy points. But then the guest recovered, and went for a 0: 6 run and took the lead. The game remained close, but Maggie’s three and two more points from De Zhao’s point gave Holon a five-point lead. Guy Pnini went up to the floor and scored two straight threes, while in the middle, Dontae Smith shot a three of his own. Holon finished the first quarter with a 27:30 advantage.
The second quarter opened at a much slower pace than the previous one, with both teams having a hard time producing points. Guy Pnini continued to stand out for the Purples, on both sides of the field and his two shots from the line set a record advantage for Holon 28:36. Pnini continued on his own and added another three that set up a double-digit lead, then Bourdieu added another basket off the arc. Five minutes and ten seconds into the second quarter that Maccabi Haifa failed to score a single field goal, until Taylor Brown scored a basket and an offense. Later on both teams pretty much gave up the defense, And at the end of the half the result is 42:51 to the credit of Hapoel Holon.