The 21st round of the Winner Basket League continued tonight (Sunday), when Hapoel Jerusalem hosted Bnei Herzliya in the Jubilee Hall and defeated it 80:88. The victory raised the Reds to a balance of 12 wins against 5 losses, while the Sharonians went down to a balance of 12 losses against 7 victories.
Despite the result, the match actually started with good minutes from the host team, mainly thanks to the good ability of Elijah Thomas (12 points). But after a timeout by Dainius Adumaitis, the team from the capital came up completely differently and Suleiman Braimo’s tremendous ability shifted the lead to the red side.
In the second quarter Braimo (22) continued to proudly lead the Reds and provided the first half on the verge of perfection, en route to a 16-point lead at halftime. In the third quarter the red trend continued and the game seemed to be going for one big Garbage Time.
However, the Jerusalemites lost the direction in the decisive quarter, allowed Max Heidegger (22) to do whatever he pleased and narrow the difference to only 4. Here it stopped for the players of Sharon Drucker, when the guest stopped the momentum and finally achieved the important victory.
Scored for Hapoel Jerusalem: Suleiman Braimo 22 points, Idan Zalmanson 19, Malcolm Hill 17, Stanton Kidd 12, Chris Kramer 9, Adam Ariel 5 and Tamir Blatt 4 points and 10 assists.
Scorers for Bnei Herzliya: Max Heidegger 22 points, Abdul Gadi 16, Trell Parks 14, Elijah Thomas 12, Koti Clark 8, Elisha Kadir 6 and Aviram Zelikovich 2.
First quarter: 14:28 to Hapoel Jerusalem
Bnei Herzliya Quintet: Abdul Gadi, Aviram Zelikovich, Koti Clark, Elisha Kadir and Elijah Thomas.
Hapoel Jerusalem Quintet: Tamir Blatt, Chris Kramer, Adam Ariel, Suleiman Braimo and Idan Zalmanson.
The match opened with first points from the host team, when Elijah Thomas scored a light lay-up, while in the next attack Elisha Kadir performed a similar action. Adam Ariel was sent to the line, scoring only one shot but provided the Jerusalemites with first points. Suleiman Braimo lost, Aviram Zelikovich survived a quick outburst that caused Adumaitis to take a timeout in a 3: 8 situation to Herzliya. The Reds’ 0: 7 run, sponsored by Reimo, passed the lead to the Jerusalem side. Tamir Blatt penetrated wonderfully and picked up a wonderful Elijah for the hot Braimo – 10:17 for the guests. The Sharons went out for a timeout, did not come back well and saw Blatt run Hill to a deadly outburst that ended in another 2 red dots. Kidd scored with the buzzer and dropped his team to plus 14 at the end of the quarter.
Second quarter: 34:50 to Hapoel Jerusalem
Thomas opened the second quarter as he started the first, with points inside the point, after completing a three-point move with a basket and an offense. The fiery Braimo did not have a hard time under the basket: Kidd sniped from the three in the next attack and Jerusalem went up to 17:35. Thomas, who if not he, scored for the team from Sharon and reduced the difference to 13. Adi Cohen Saban, with great delivery, found Zalmanson inside and the chin added 2 easy. Heidegger threw out of the arc, hitting and causing Herzliya to take a timeout. Trell Parks gave an excellent assist to Cutty Clark, who reduced the gap to 10. Hill stitched a big three towards the end of the quarter and actually brought the Jerusalemites down by plus 16 to the locker rooms.
Third quarter:
The third quarter opened with points from Braimo and Kramer, with Thomas being the man on the other side for Herzliya – 36:56 red. The Jerusalemites just do whatever they please, when Hill sniped a big three and raised his team to 39:62. Drucker got angry and took a time-out to try to provoke his players. The time-out also did not help the host, as Zalmanson almost completed a three-point move with a basket and an offense (missed the shot) immediately upon returning to the parquet. Hill raised his tally to 11 points after another accurate shot from outside the arc that set a 40:72 mark. Gaddy and Parks instilled some hope on the home side, with a 0: 9 run.
Fourth quarter: 80:88 to Hapoel Jerusalem
Abdul Gadi opened the decisive quarter with an excellent three. The pace of the threes continued, with Hill being the one to shell on the other side for the team from the capital. Enormous white momentum, which included Heidegger’s big threes and another good ability from Parks narrowed the gap to just six points. Parks added two more points from the line, the result – 77:81 to Jerusalem. Braimo went to the line, but scored only once and Drucker took a timeout. The tension is at its peak. Gaddy scored 2 points and dropped to 4, but Kramer provided an ingenious layup in the counterattack. From here the Herzliya were unable to return and Jerusalem won the match.
