The 25th round of the national league opened tonight (Tuesday) with four games, when Moked Hapoel Hevel Modiin recorded an away victory at the expense of Maccabi Hod Hasharon. Kiryat Ata did not have a hard time beating Elitzur Yavneh and completing a double within a week and a half. Hapoel Ramat Givatayim continued its journey towards the top eight when they defeated Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin, which is stuck in last place.
It should be noted that the round will be completed tomorrow with three meetings – Hapoel Afula will host Elitzur Netanya (17:30) in the main game that will be broadcast on the sports channel. Elitzur Ashkelon will also host Hapoel Acre / Mate Asher and Hapoel Galil Elyon and Adrian Yuter will meet Raanana.
Maccabi Hodash – Hapoel Hevel Modiin 96:88
It was not easy for the top team, who scored 68 percent for two, but in the end it ended in another victory after a lot of heartbeats. Maccabi Hodash started the game well and with a 3-18 run in the second quarter already had a 14 point advantage, but in the second half Hapoel Hevel Modiin’s defense absorbed only 30 points and Nati Cohen and Yariv Amiram defeated their team from last season. Meged, Maccabi Hodash with a loss The fifth in a row moves significantly away from the top eight.
Scorers for Maccabi Hodash: Xavier Moon 24 points, Arad Harari 17 points, Smardo Samuels 15 points, Effi Tiomkin 13 points.
Scorers for Hapoel Hevel Modiin: Storm Warren 22 points, Daniel Danino (8 rebounds) 19 points, Ariel Navon 17 points, Yariv Amiram (11 rebounds, 8/9 for two) 16 points.
Urbani Kiryat Ata – Elitzur Yavne 69:90
Still without the injured Frank Hasel, Elitzur Yavne tried to avenge the loss of Kiryat Ata about a week and a half ago but it did not help her. The Northerners led throughout the game and with great ability from Marilyn Will and Jillian Boyd (25 points each) ensured another home win that kept them out of the dangerous zone and brought them closer to the top eight. Ural Lev was great with 11 assists and left Elitzur Yavne deep in the bottom struggles.
Scorers for Kiryat Ata: Julian Boyd and Marilyn Will 25 points each, Elijah Hirsch 15 points, Amit Reuven (4 steals) 13 points.
Scorers for Elitzur Yavne: Elad Hoffman 22 points, Caleb Walker (9 rebounds) 19 points, Eliran Hadad 10 points.
AS Ramat Hasharon – Maccabi Urban RJ 71:94
A big win for Guy Cantor who connects two home wins in a row in five days. On the other hand, Shmulik Brenner’s debut as Maccabi Urban Raj coach did not go as planned for him. Ramat Hasharon enjoyed a great evening by Uri Hai who scored 21 points and 5 threes out of his team’s 11 threes, which was 44 percent accurate. On the other hand, Maccabi Urban Raj lost 20 times and after a relatively balanced first half, fell 20 points behind in the third quarter.
Scorers for Ramat Hasharon: Uri Chai (5/8 for three) 21 points, Chris Cunningham (16 rebounds) 20 points, Jekwan Lewis (9 assists) 17 points.
Scorers for Maccabi Urban Raj: Ricky Trent 22 points, Shlomi Harush 14 points, Robert Rotbart 12 points.
Hapoel Raj Givatayim – Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin 80:90
After a lot of heartbeats, the Ordons kept the house and recorded another win in the playoff entry battle. The team from the Krayot made quite a bit of trouble for Matan Harush, who finished the first quarter with a 22:30 advantage. In the second quarter Chris O’Toole, Rashed Madden and Shalev Lugashi woke up and the visitors’ defense absorbed just 14 points. An 18-5 run in the final minutes of the second quarter set 51:44 for the visitors going down to the locker rooms. Guy Platin and Mike Holton woke up at the start of the third quarter and shrank to 61:56, 5 minutes into the third quarter. Holton scored three straight threes and the third quarter ended in just 66:65 for the visitors. In the last quarter, Hapoel Rag Givatayim’s momentum continued and Shaked Yerushalmi made a comeback in his opening. Later, Holton, Combs and a great defense by Guy Platin increased the gap to 70:77.