ONE System |
Scotty Wilbkin (Itzik Belnitsky)
Maccabi Tel Aviv is currently hosted by Romema for an intriguing match at Hapoel Haifa in the 19th round of the Winner Basket League. The champion did not sign Angelo Cloiaro, Othello Hunter and Tyler Dorsey in the squad for the game and arrived after the 72:89 victory over Maccabi Rishon Lezion, hoping to continue the momentum.
The teams have met four times this season – and in all of them the Yellows had the upper hand: 84:89 in a training match in September, 74:83 in the Winner Basket Cup in October, 75:81 in the last round of the league and 73:98 in the eighth finals of the National Cup The champion plays close in the first half to an impressive victory with a 0:17 run in the third quarter.
The Yellows, who lead the table, managed to recover in the last round after the painful loss to Anadolu Zero in the Euroleague, and the team will hope to continue the trend before leaving for Kaunas for the game against Zalgiris. Hapoel Haifa’s last victory, which is in an exceptional season, over the champion was in the 1989 playoffs: 85:88 home with 19 points from Roland Houston and Avner Shem-Tov.
First quarter:
Hapoel Haifa Quintet: Jason Seagers, Keenan Evans, Rocks Buckles, Amit Simhon, Leonard Freeman.
Maccabi Tel Aviv quintet: Elijah Bryant, Scotty Wilbkin, Omri Caspi, Oz Blazer, Ante Zizizic.
The quarter opened with two points from Omri Caspi’s penalty line, Leonard Freeman countered with a successful layup. The Reds from Carmel started the game well when Rakim in Alex stitched a free three and raised his team to a 6-7 advantage. Scotty Wilbkin, on the other hand, warmed up the handle, was precise outside the arc and returned the advantage to the Yellows.
