Israel: Maccabi TA dominating Winner League
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv (12-1) continues its dominance in the Israel Winner League, having a four-game lead on the next two teams in the standings, Hapoel Eilat (9-5) and Maccabi Haifa (9-5). Week 14 matchups saw No.2 through No. 5 in the league squaring off against each other, with Electra looking to avenge their only loss on the season to Maccabi Rishon, who took the first contest Oct. 28th on Electra’s home court. The match will be played on Monday.
Elizur Ashkelon – Hapoel TA, 51:54
Hapoel TA came out of their Week 14 contest with Elizur Ashkelon sitting in 6th place in the league with a 6-8 record. The loss dropped Elizur to 8th at 5-9.
The hosts got out to an early lead, 19:12, at the end of the first quarter, and built a nine-point margin heading into the locker room at the intermission up 32:23.
Hapoel took control in the third frame, outscoring their hosts 5:16 to set up the final 10, up by two, 37:39. In the final stanza Hapoel was able to hang on for the win, added an additional point to the lead, earning a 51:54 victory on the road.
Demontez Stitt paced the winners with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Bar Timor added 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Matan Naor hauled in 10 rebounds in the win.
Marcus Moore’s 21 points was game-high for Ashkelon.
Maccabi Bazan Haifa – Hapoel Eilat, 96:87
In a battle of the No. 2 and No. 3 clubs in the Winner League, Maccabi Bazan Haifa used a superior second half to move into a tie for the No. 2 spot with a 9-5 record. Hapoel Eilat drops to 9-5 and now shares No. 2 with Haifa.
The hosts took the early lead, getting up 24:22 after the initial frame, but let Eilat control the second 10, falling behind 41:45 at the half.
Haifa covered the spread in the third, outscoring their guests 26:21 in the quarter, to take a one point advantage into the last period.
It was all Maccabi Bazan Haifa in the fourth quarter, dropping in 29 points and running away with the contest to earn a share of the No. 2 position in the league.
Donta Smith’s 25 points led Haifa, Paul Stoll added 20 points and 8 assists, Pat Calathes dropped in 17 points while nabbing 11 rebounds and James Thomas contributed 11 points and 16 boards to the win.
Scotty Hopson was game-high with 27 for Hapoel Eilat, also grabbing 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Afik Missim tallied 20 points and Jerome Tillman added 12.
Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem – GreenTops Netanya, 79:70
Coming into this Week 14 contest these two clubs were tied in the standings at the No. 4 position with 7-6 marks. After a slow start, the hosts dominated the last three quarters to come away with a 79:70 win and sole possession of No. 4. The GreenTops fall to 7-7 and the No. 5 slot on the leaderboard, just one point ahead of No. 6, Hapoel TA.
Netanya set the tone early, jumping out to a 13:23 advantage after the first frame. Hapoel Migdal cut off 6 points from their deficit to take a 33:37 score into the break.
The second half found the hosts taking the lead and continuing to build on it when they outscored the GreenTops 25:19 between minutes 20 and 30 of the matchup and then 21:14 in the final stanza, to pick up win number eight on the season.
Craig Smith and Jacob Pullen dropped in 17 each for the hosts, with Smith also cleaning off the glass to the tune of 8 total rebounds. Josh Duncan contributed 15 points and 8 rebounds to the win.
Marco Killingsworth’s 23 was game-high for Netanya. Raymar Morgan added 19 points and 7 rebounds. Deron Washington tallied 11 points, but his contribution was on the boards, where he snagged 10 defensive and 4 offensive rebounds. Washington also picked up 5 steals during the contest.
Hapoel Unet Holon – Altshuler Shaham Gilboa Galil, 76:79
Entering Sunday’s contest, Hapoel Unet Holon was tied with Elizur Ashkelon for the No. 8 position in the Winner League, while Gilboa Galil was in the No. 10 slot at 4-9. With both Elizur and Holon losing and Gilboa Galil picking up a win, all three are now deadlocked at 5-9 and sitting in the No. 8 spot at the moment. The clubs are close to the relegation line, with No. 11 Bnei Hashron sporting a 6-7 record and slated to play No. 12 Maccabi Ashdod (4-9) on Monday.
Holon got the early lead, outscoring Gilboa Balil 24:21 in the first frame, but then the guests countered in the second with a four-point margin to head into the dressing rooms up 41:42.
The hosts brought the contest back to even at the end of the third 10, to head into the final frame knotted at 59.
Gilboa Galil got the last word and created a traffic jam in the standings in the No. 8 spot when they put a three-spot on their hosts to win the quarter 17:20, which gave them the win at 76:69.
Rakim Sanders dropped in 24 to led Gilboa Galil. Dagon Yivzori added 19, while Yaniv Green contributed 9 points and 12 rebounds to the win.
Jerome Dyson was game-high with 26 points, also drawing 9 fouls during the game and sinking 8 of 9 singles (as a team Hapoel shot 17/19 – 89%). Dominic Waters added 19 points and 6 assists, and Lawrence Hill dropped in 14 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds on the day.