Moshe Barda 11/02/2021 21:10
Scotty Wilbkin tries to block Tyros Maggie (Itzik Blanicki)
After Maccabi Rishon Lezion’s victory over Hapoel Jerusalem, the second game of the National Basketball Cup semifinals is currently being held at the Kvutzat Shlomo Hall and brings together two of the best teams in Israel today – the champion of the last three seasons, Maccabi Tel Aviv, against Hapoel Holon, for a direct battle for the coveted ticket For the final against the Oranges from the City of Wine.
This is the third game between them this season, and the previous two meetings were decided only in the last seconds: in the third round, Holon won 76:79, while in the Winner Basket Cup final, the champion from Tel Aviv made a comeback led by Omri Caspi and won the first title of the season with an 84:86 victory.
Maccabi comes in top form after four impressive victories in the league, when in all of them it presented a great defense. Omri Caspi has not yet returned to the squad, but the first to sign up is TJ Klein. On the other hand, Chris Jones, Tyler Dorsey and Dragon Bender were not signed to the squad. The Yellows have not won a trophy since 2017 and are eager to return the title to the closet for the 45th time in their history.
On the other hand, after an impressive winning streak, Holon has recently lost some height in the league with losses to Hapoel Haifa and Ness Ziona, but it reaches the semi-finals with high morale after a victory in Eilat. Also, for the first time this season in the local frames she comes with all five of her foreigners. The Purple-Yellows have not visited the final since winning in 2018 and are coming hungry to continue their historic season at another factory.
First quarter: 18:20
Hapoel Holon’s quintet: Willy Workman, Tyros Maggie, Calvin Harris, Chris Johnson, Maxim de Zhao.
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s quintet: Scotty Wilbkin, Elijah Bryant, Yuval Sussman, Angelo Cloiaro, Ante Zizic.
Both teams hesitantly started the attack and after about 2 and a half minutes, the result was 2: 3 to Holon. Zizic with Dunk raised his balance to 4 points and set 3: 4, Holon again got stuck in the attack and Sussman with a three raised Maccabi to a four-point lead. The Blues’ escape continued and Bryant’s three set up already 3:10.
Tyros Maggie with a beautiful dunk scored Holon’s second basket of the game, about five minutes into the quarter. Othello Hunter restored the lead to eight points, but Holonia’s five straight points brought it back to matters. Hunter added 2 more points and set up 10:15, but Maggie with a basket move and an offense shrank to just three points, and Harris’ basket set up a tie. Hunter with two points from the line returned the advantage to the Blues, and more points from Cloiaro set 15:20, before Sagi Pnini with a three on the buzzer as he so loves, brought Holon down 20:18 at the end of the quarter.
Second quarter:
Oz Blazer set up 18:22 after a beautiful assist from Wilbecio, and another three by Shalev set up 21:25. Isaiah Miles left Holon close, and points from Willy Workman brought the Yellows back to 27:27, Yannis Sapropoulos rushed to take a timeout.
