How good it is to have the league. Tonight (Thursday), Maccabi Tel Aviv managed to recover from the defeat in the Euroleague to Anadolu Oops and defeated Maccabi Rishon Lezion 72:89 in the Beit Maccabi hall in the 22nd round. In another game, Gilboa / Galil defeated Hapoel Haifa 79:96.
The team of Yannis Sapropoulos that leads the table came to face after the biggest defeat of the season in the Euroleague: 90:66 to Anadolu Zero strong in the hall, but managed to put the game behind, return to the positive track and compose a third consecutive victory in the league, mainly thanks to Ante Giz Itch flirted with a double-double (20 points and 9 rebounds).
On the other hand, Guy Goodes’ team, which will meet the Yellows in the National Cup final in two months, hoped to gain confidence and continue the positive momentum after two consecutive league victories, but unfortunately stopped on the home field in front of the fans. The one who stood out best for the team from the city of wine was Noam Avivi who provided 16 points.
Scored for Maccabi Tel Aviv: Ante Zizic 20 points and 9 rebounds, Elijah Bryant 15 points, Chris Jones 13 points, Omri Caspi 11 points and 7 rebounds, Scotty Wilbkin 10 points, Oz Blazer 10 Points, TJ Klein 4 points, Othello Hunter 3 points, Dori Sahar 2 points, John Dibertolomao one point.
Scored for Maccabi Rishon LeZion: Noam Avivi 16 points, Golan Gut 13 points and 7 rebounds, Jeremy Fargo 12 points and 7 assists, Daryl Monroe 10 points and 7 rebounds, Achilles Mitchell 9 points, Noam Dovrat 7 points , Gal Tessler 3 points, Ido Fleischer 2 points.
First quarter: 18:22 to Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Rishon Lezion quintet: Jeremy Fargo, Noam Avivi, Noam Dovrat, Achilles Mitchell, Daryl Monroe.
Maccabi Tel Aviv quintet: Elijah Bryant, Scotty Wilbkin, Othello Hunter, Oz Blazer, Ante Zizic.
The game opens with a layup by Noam Avivi. Othello Hunter, on the other hand, responded when he finished a three-point move in which he scored from the spot and squeezed an offense. Immediately afterwards, Jeremy Fargo Dyke out of the arc. Later, Caspi completed 3/3 of the field and went up to 6 individual points. On the other hand, Golan Gutt showed that the host came to make life difficult for the champion and stitched a big three, but Ante Zizic finished a great move inside the point and put his team ahead 18:22 At the end of the first quarter.
Second quarter: 34:43 to Maccabi Tel Aviv
The quarter opened on a light play by Jeremy Fargo, Chris Jones reacted from the sidelines as he was accurate off the arc. Later, TJ Klein first stepped on the board and added two points of his own for the visitors. Elijah Bryant then stitched a three and raised his tally to 10 personal points. Towards the end of the quarter, Yannis Sapropoulos’ team stopped a number of Rishon LeZion attacks, which allowed them to escape a bit and increase the gap to 9 points in the drop to the locker room. 34:43 To Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Third quarter: 47:67 to Maccabi Tel Aviv
The second half opened with a layup by Omri Caspi who was completely free. On the other hand, Achilles Mitchell came into the eye and responded with a shot out of the point after a great assist from a spokeswoman. Later, Guy Goodes’ team did not get along with the Caspi-Zizic duo who did as they pleased with the color and celebrated with easy points. Towards the end of the quarter, the champion danced on the floor as both Klein and Blazer added their own points and took their team down in47:67.
Fourth quarter: 72:89 to Maccabi Tel Aviv
The final quarter opened with a three-pointer by Gal Steller, but Zizic and Chris Jones answered on the other side with two points each. Next, Guy Goodes’ guest looked simply unresolved and scored a low percentage and was punished on the other side when Zizic and Wilbkin celebrated and sealed the game, 72:89 To the champion.
Gilboa / Galil – Hapoel Haifa 79:96
How important it was to her. Avishai Gordon’s side managed to stop the negative momentum, break a streak of three losses in the league and subdue the rival that blows at the back with the winner’s balance standing at 11 wins alongside 6 losses and she is in fourth place. Kerry Blackshire assisted in the win and contributed 18 points. On the other hand, the red guest from Carmel, who surprised Hapoel Jerusalem with 87: 100, aspired to put together a second victory in a row but was stopped when she was in fifth place in the table with a balance of 10 wins along with 6 losses. 20 points from Rocks Buckles were not enough.
First half: 34:48 to Gilboa / Galil
Gilboa / Galil Quintet: Yiftach Ziv, Joe Thomason, Nathaniel Artzi, Kerry Blackshire, Jabeba Floyd.
Hapoel Haifa Quintet: Keenan Evans, Jason Seagers, Amit Simhon, Rakim Buckles, Leonard Freeman.
The opening was for the host when Yiftach Ziv scored the first basket, then Artzi doubled the dunk. On the other hand, Amit Simhon answered with precision outside the arc. Later, the guest from the Carmel often missed and was punished by mostly by Blackshire and Floyd. In the second quarter, the trend was the same, with Ziv, Artzi and Benny celebrating and raising the host to a difference of over 20 points. But the visitors’ 1-8 run narrowed the gap and sealed the half-time score 34:48.
Second half: 79:96 to Gilboa / Galil
At the start of the second half, the visitors from Carmel made comeback votes when they reduced the gap to only 10 points. But then Gershon and Thomason with excellent ability escaped again. In the final quarter of the game, the fiery Buckles shrank to 73:63 which caused Avishai Gordon to take a timeout. Back on the parquet, Artzi stitched a big three that set up tremendous momentum for the host who ran until the end with 79:96 Giant.