Hapoel Tel Aviv got by Bnei Herzliya 95-91 ahead of their EuroCup semifinal best-of-three series against Valencia, which begins on Tuesday night in Spain. Antonio Blakeney had the hot hand early for the Reds, while Johnathan Motley also scored with ease, but Elijah Stewart kept the hosts in the game throughout the contest.
However, Marcus Bingham, Tomer Ginat, and Marcus Foster were able to keep Eitan Burg and Chris Silva at bay, while Motley found key points down the stretch to hand Dimitrios Itoudis’s team the victory.
Motley scored 22 points for Hapoel, Foster chipped in with 17 points, Bingham added 16 points, and Blakeney put in 14 points in the win. Stewart paced Herzliya with 28 points, while Burg and Silva each scored 15 points in the loss.
“We had a good strategy and plan,” Itoudis said. “We came out strong and went up by a double-digit margin in the first quarter. In the third, we turned the ball over a lot and made some poor decisions. We gave them the home court, and they came back and took the lead. But we had character, and we found a way to win this game. We are building character.”
“When you lose by four points, you’re missing a lot,” Bnei Herzliya coach Yehu Orland began. “On every play, you can say there was something that we were missing. All in all, our stats were fine, but one place where I can say we could have been a bit better was our free throw shooting, which has been very good this season, but a few more could have made all the difference.”
Motley, the game’s MVP, spoke about the win.
“They are always a tough opponent, and it’s tough in these small gyms – lots of energy, and they played hard. We had to find a way to win this game, and we have another goal coming ahead. I try to help my team win, and we came out with the W. This was definitely good preparation for Valencia, and you have to respect every team.”
Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv slipped by Hapoel Holon 86-83 as the yellow-and-blue mounted a double-digit fourth-quarter comeback to take the razor-thin win.
The Purples took control of the game from the get-go, as Iftach Ziv and DJ Cooper paced the visitors to a 42-36 halftime lead. Guy Kaplan’s team began the third quarter with an 11-0 run and headed into the final frame holding a 69-56 lead, but Jimmy Clark began to score at will. At the same time, Trevion Williams and Rokas Jokubaitis found critical points down the stretch to complete the comeback victory.
Clark scored 18 points, Williams added 14 points, and Jokubaitis put in 13 points in the win. Ziv scored 18 points, Justin Alston added 15 points, and Cooper scored 13 points and dished out 13 assists in the loss.
“This is the third game in a row that we began poorly – lazy and with no energy,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Katash said. “If this is the third time, it’s got to be my fault. Despite this, we won for the third straight game as well. We were able to get the win thanks to pulling ourselves together, and I had to make some changes as well. Perhaps next game, I need to start off with guys who can give more energy.”
“We came into the game really well,” Holon coach Guy Kaplan began. “We set a goal to stop their transition game and hold down their ability to run the floor. We were there for the most part but came up a bit short.”
Clark, the game’s MVP, spoke about the victory.
“We didn’t start off well and didn’t have a good flow with our system. Once the game got going, we began to play defense, got our rebounds, and were able to win. While we have had a tough time in Israel the past few games and have won games in the Euroleague a bit easier, the two leagues have different playing styles, and the teams in Israel are prepared to play us, as most have time to prepare.”
Israel's basketball weekend
Elsewhere, Hapoel Afula stunned Hapoel Jerusalem 84-82 as J’Covan Brown scored a layup as time wound down to hand the hosts the shocking win.
After a close first half that saw the capital city Reds lead 44-40, Brown turned up the offense after a subpar opening twenty minutes, as the star guard worked his magic to give Ariel Beit Halachmi’s team the crucial victory.
Brown scored 25 points and added eight assists, Sandy Cohen scored 18 points, and Justyn Mutts put in 15 points in the win, while Yovel Zoosman scored 15 points for Jerusalem in the loss.
Game MVP Brown spoke about how he willed his team to the win.
“Just trying to be great. Lately, we haven’t found a way to win games – it’s been a while. It’s about just having heart and fight. I knew when we had the last ball that it was all about me. Everyone knows I love these moments. I carry my teammates on my back no matter what. I always want the shot – miss or make. The coach made a great play: ‘Give JB the ball and let him do what he wants to do.’”
“He was excellent and won the game for Afula,” Jerusalem coach Yonatan Alon said of Brown’s winning basket.
“Unfortunately, we turned this into a one-possession game. There was a lack of concentration, all kinds of turnovers, and we need to improve that. I tried to find the team that would run best and give me confidence. I think we were complacent – it’s on us, we didn’t do the job. This loss really hurts us – we could lose home-court advantage because of it.”
Ness Ziona downed the cellar dweller Hapoel Haifa 99-89 as Jake Van Tubbergen put on one of the Israeli league’s all-time greatest performances to help Amit Sherf’s squad secure the win.
Van Tubbergen scored 35 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and drew 10 fouls to chalk up an efficiency rating of 53, while Ricky Lindo added 17 points and Bryce Brown scored 16 points in the victory. Deandre Pinckney paced the Carmel Reds with 29 points, and Matt Coleman put in 15 points in the loss.
Ironi Kiryat Ata got by Hapoel Beersheba 84-79 as it edged out of the relegation zone, thanks to Silvio De Sousa and Chris Smith, who scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, in the win, while Iverson Molinar scored 31 points for Beersheba in the loss.