Hapoel Beersheba stunned Hapoel Tel Aviv 83-82 in Israel basketball league action as Iverson Molinar drilled home a game-winning 3-pointer as time wound down to snatch the win from the jaws of defeat.
Johnathan Motley controlled the paint early on, with Tomer Ginat and Bar Timor scoring as well, but the trio of Molinar, Spencer Weisz, and Ron Zipper kept the game close as the hosts stayed in front 50-46 at halftime. Ginat and Bruno Caboclo bumped up the lead to 69-60 after thirty minutes, but Weisz hit some big shots, and Molinar drained the biggest one of all to secure the shocking victory.
Molinar scored 32 points, Weisz added 20 points, and Zipper scored 18 points in the win. Ginat scored 18 points, Motley put in 17 points, and Timor scored 13 points in the loss.
“To be a good coach, you need good players,” Beersheba coach Rami Hadar began. “I didn’t build this team, but the person who did did a good job, and I’m lucky to have Iverson with me. This is a win for the spirit of the team. We didn’t break during each run they had, and I’m very happy about that. It doesn’t make a difference who is on the floor – everybody is all in, and every day in Beersheba is fun.”
“The way the game went, it could have gone either way, and it would have been well deserved,” Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Dimitrios Itoudis said. “We had a bad opener on the defensive end, and Beersheba is a very interesting team that plays a lot of transition basketball. We scored 28 points and used only two fouls in the first quarter, which allowed them to get into the game. We had eight misses from the free-throw line and went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc, and we couldn’t win. Congrats to Beersheba and their new coach – that was a significant punch for us.”
Molinar spoke about the win, especially coming against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
“I felt like we did a pretty good job no matter who we were playing, and it’s the same motivation coming from the locker room. There’s hype for sure when you play Hapoel Tel Aviv because of how good they are, and of course, that motivates you.”
Timor also reflected on the game.
“As the coach said, it was a big punch for us, and Beersheba had a great game. We couldn’t kill the game, and we weren’t aggressive enough. We missed free throws, and they made a big play at the end.”
Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv took care of Maccabi Ramat Gan 98-87 as Roman Sorkin and Rokas Jokubaitis were just too much for the hosts to handle, with the yellow-and-blue getting back on the winning track after a disappointing loss to ALBA Berlin in Euroleague play last week.
Oded Katash’s squad came out firing on all cylinders, with Tamir Blatt and Levi Randolph hitting their shots from deep, while Jasiel Rivero and Roman Sorkin controlled the paint to give the visitors a 54-38 halftime lead. However, Amin Stevens, Drew Crawford, Kendale McCullum, and Isaiah Miles pulled Shmulik Brenner’s team to within a pair of points (80-78) midway through the final frame. But Sorkin from the outside, Jokubaitis, and Randolph all found points to widen the gap and close out the game for Maccabi.
The yellow-and-blue now head to Spain for a Euroleague double week against Barcelona and Baskonia, which will be followed by a State Cup semifinal derby clash versus Hapoel Tel Aviv the following week.
Sorkin scored 22 points, Jokubaitis added 18 points, and Randolph scored 16 points in the win. Stevens scored 25 points, McCullum put in 15 points, and Adam Ariel scored 12 points in the loss.
“The first half we started very well on both sides of the floor and put pressure on their guards,” Katash said. “In the third quarter, we were a bit confused on the attack, and our turnovers gave them a chance to get back into the game. Their tough shots started to fall, and they deserve credit for the work they’ve done and how they stayed in the game. We started to play not to lose, but I took a timeout and told them, ‘Just keep playing as we always have,’ and we closed out the win.”
“This was a disappointing result,” Ramat Gan coach Shmulik Brenner said. “While I’m proud of how we played in the second half, it wasn’t overconfidence that resulted in our poor play – it was our lack of confidence. Roman Sorkin killed us with his 3-pointers, and that really hurt us. They may have been overexcited. We know who we’re playing – Maccabi, who are in the Euroleague. We know who we are, what we’re good at, and what we need to work on. They’re just such a deep and good team.”
Jokubaitis spoke about the importance of the win.
“We are not in our best moment, but we know every game here in the Israeli league is important. Ramat Gan is a tough team, and we knew after the game against ALBA we had to show up ahead of the double week coming up in Spain, where it’s never easy to play. But we have to build ourselves back up for the Israel State Cup semifinals next week. The win is good, but we have to keep building.”
Elsewhere, Hapoel Holon downed Bnei Herzliya 84-71 as Mike Davis Jr. scored at will to help the Purples to their first win over Herzliya since the 2022 championship season.
Mike Davis Jr. was on fire early on, while Elijah Mitrou-Long added points for Hapoel Holon. Xavier Sneed and Ethan Burg countered for Herzliya, but the Purples took a 52-43 advantage into halftime. Netanel Artzi and Josh Hawley found points for the hosts in the second half, while John Meeks tried to cut the gap, but Davis and Mitrou-Long closed out the win.
Davis scored 28 points, Mitrou-Long added 16 points, and Artzi scored 13 points in the win. Sneed scored 22 points, Meeks chipped in with 14 points, and Hawley scored 12 points in the loss.
“Without Chris Silva playing for Herzliya, the game was very different,” Holon Head Coach Guy Kaplan said. “We were able to hit our shots from beyond the arc, and we had to keep them at bay. We held them to a lower point total – they only scored 71 points – and that’s what made the difference.”
“It’s obviously no fun to talk about a loss,” Herzliya head coach Yehu Orland said. “We came in trying to stop Holon from shooting the 3-pointer, but we couldn’t execute that, and it allowed them to break away. We tried to work hard throughout the game and managed to come back. We all came to play hard, but the guys were thinking about the upcoming Cup game.”
Davis Jr. spoke about his terrific shooting game and Holon’s chances of competing for the league title.
“After the third or fourth shot that was contested and I just flicked it, I thought it might be one of those nights. It’s always good to stop a losing streak against a specific team, and if we play defense well, that will always give us a chance in every game. Playing hard and getting the loose balls – we have enough offensive power to play with any team in the league, but it starts with defense for us.”
Up north, Kiryat Ata stunned Hapoel Jerusalem 88-85 as Liam O’Reilly starred for the hosts in the upset win.
Eldad Bentov’s team got off to a quick start as O’Reilly paced the hosts from the get-go, while Chris Smith, Yariv Amiram, and Marvin Smith all found points. Khadeen Carrington, Jeremy Morgan, and Or Cornelius scored to stay close, but Kiryat Ata went into halftime up 49-45.
Chris Smith and Silvio De Sousa put in points, but Gaby Chachashvili and Chris Johnson did the same for Yonatan Alon’s team, heading into the final frame all knotted up at 67-67. O’Reilly, along with Chris Smith and De Sousa, were able to top Carrington and company.
O’Reilly scored 27 points, Chris Smith scored 16 points, and De Sousa chipped in with 15 points in the win. Carrington scored 18 points, and Morgan put in 13 points in the loss.
Finally, Hapoel Galil Elyon topped Nes Ziona 77-65 in their first game back in Kfar Blum since the outset of the war.
A tight game
In a tight game heading into the fourth quarter, Lucas Goldenberg, Shachar Amir, and Lior Carreira broke it open with plenty of points to secure a much-needed win for Guni Izraeli’s squad.
Goldenberg scored 28 points, Marcus Carr added 14 points, and Amir scored 11 points in the win. Darnell Edge scored 13 points, and Jake Van Tubbergen put in 12 points in the loss.