It has been two years since Maccabi Rishon LeZion reached the semi-finals of the State Cup, and failed somewhere at the finish line – but this season it will have another chance: Guy Goodes and his team completed an 83:88 victory over Ness Ziona tonight (Sunday) at the end of a dramatic battle. Rishon LeZion will join Hapoel Holon, which has already qualified.
Only about two weeks ago, the two met in the league and Rishon LeZion, just like tonight, came out with its hand on the top. Rom Myansi, the fresh, orange acquisition from the heart of the colony recorded five consecutive victories in all competitions – including one impressive over Hapoel Jerusalem – but this time it was not enough.
The first quarter, and already here we saw the first buds of a change in momentum, was marked by Maccabi Rishon Lezion. Despite a good start by Ness Ziona, the balls went into Guy Goodes’ team – while Daryl Monroe took control of the game, and Noam Dovrat presented one of the better offensive games. That’s what we saw from him this season. And so, the difference grew to double digits. But in the second quarter, Monroe suddenly got into some conversations with the referees, Goodes’ side looked scattered and lost ball after ball – and Jerome Manci and his team took advantage of that to return to a lone pass game.
The second half continued to be volatile and Rishon LeZion had another chance to escape and finish the game, but when it did not – Angola woke up and Minesi took control of the game and forced drama. The chin scored attack after attack and completely locked the point, Angola was given the opportunity to force extra time and missed, Lemond did not take advantage of the rebound – and Maccabi Rishon LeZion won and won a ticket to the semifinals.
the progress of the game
The game opened at a high pace with the dictation of Ness Ziona – who did not miss the first 4 shots from the field – but threes by Dover and Gut prevented her from escaping. Mitchell’s basket and offense, another Gutt three-pointer, and especially Tal Dan’s offense problem – shifted the momentum to Rishon LeZion’s side. And starting from here, there was only one team on the field. Monroe managed things, handed out 3 assists and scored 6 individual points. , A spokeswoman added another three and the first quarter ended at 18:29 local.
The opening of the second quarter, compared to its predecessor, did not bode well for Rishon LeZion – which seemed scattered and raised its loss count to 8 after less than a quarter of an hour of basketball. Angola’s easy, along with a series of local fouls and an easy basket by Patrick Miller, reduced the difference from double digits. A spring tip with the buzzer set 39:44 at the break.
The trend continued into the third quarter, but very quickly Goodes’ trainees again grabbed the reins and only 6 points from Angola prevented them from escaping. The collaboration between Monroe and Avivi yielded four points of his own on the other side, and the difference grew again to double digits. Heartbeats were heard on the Rishon LeZion bench as Monroe remained sprawled on the floor and went down to be tested, and the difference did go down, but with the return of Ness Ziona the point was broken and Taylor’s baskets kept the local momentum. .
The fourth quarter was already much tighter than its predecessors. A three-pointer from Mansi brought Ness Ziona back to a distance of one pass, but a three-pointer from a spokeswoman returned the safe range to Rishon LeZion. Out, but nothing changed and the loss of Dovrat became a basket of Minsi on the other hand. Dovrat returned with a 3-pointer and increased the lead to 4, 01:30 to end. Angola and Lemond tried to bring Ness Ziona back to a tie with a three-pointer at the end, but they missed The ticket to the semifinals for the third year in a row. 83:88 at the end.
