Balls bouncing in every which way for Israelis
Plenty of Israeli basketball action both in the Holy Land and abroad kept hoops aficionados very busy this week, with upsets, high-flying excitement and drama across the board.
Hapoel Holon fell 74-65 to Promitheas Patras in Basketball Champions League action as its round-of-16 group stage record dropped to 1-2 heading into the international and cup break.
The Purples, who were without star big man Justin Smith after he tore a hamstring during the team’s league loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv over the weekend, grabbed a slim 27-25 lead at halftime but the Greek squad came out strong in the second half to wrap up the victory.
Shawn Dawson and Netanel Artzi each scored 18 points in the loss while Anthony Cowan scored 18 points and Hunter Hale notched 16 points in the win.
“We were physical on defense but on offense we missed some shots because of their aggressiveness,” Holon bench boss Amit Sherf said. “We had the opportunity to lead my much more than 2-points after the first half because we took them out of their game and they played into our hands. We couldn’t waste that and only score 27 points and we didn’t execute well. If we would have had a 10-12 point lead after the first half we could save that advantage.”
Locally, Kiryat Ata shocked Hapoel Jerusalem 76-74 as Raz Adam and newcomer Isaiah Mucius mounted a comeback with huge buckets down the stretch to snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat.
Adam and Batemon each scored 15 points while Mucius and and Amin Stevens scored 14 points a piece in the win. Brynton Lemar scored 15 points for Jerusalem and Or Cornelius chipped in with 14 points in the loss.
At Yad Eliyahu, Maccabi Tel Aviv sunk Hapoel Eilat 90-77 as Antonius Cleveland paced the yellow-and-blue to the win.
Oded Katash’s squad jumped out to an early double-digit lead thanks to captain John DiBartolomeo, as well as Cleveland, that helped Maccabi cruise to the victory.
Cleveland and Rivero scored 18 points while Sorkin added 14 points in the win as Johnson scored 17 points and Booker chipped in with 15 points in the loss.
By the Carmel mountain, Hapoel Tel Aviv crushed Hapoel Haifa 103-84 as the Reds stayed atop the league standings with the victory.
Jaylen Hoard was dominant for Danny Franco’s squad as five Hapoel players finished the game in double digits.
Meanwhile, Hapoel Afula slipped by Bnei Herzliya 65-64 as Cassius Stanley hit a pair of clutch free-throws as time wound down to give the hosts the win.
Noam Avivi led the way with 18 points and Stanley added 11 points in the win as Ethan Burg scored 12 points and Tyler Stone chipped in with 11 points in the defeat.
Also, Hapoel Galil Elyon dropped Ness Ziona 91-87 as James Feldeine led the Galilee squad to the win.
Finally, Hapoel Beersheba defeated Maccabi Ramat Gan 98-96 as the Southern Reds went into halftime with a 51-43 lead and held on to take their fourth win of the season.
JaKeenan Gant scored 26 points and Egor Kooulechov added 16 points for Beersheba in the win while Kendale McCullum scored 28 points for Ramat Gan in a losing effort.