Israeli League, Regular Season, Game 10: January 20-21, 2008
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The first week in the second round of the Israeli Basketball Super League saw four teams score 94 points or more to earn wins. On top of the list was defending champion Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, who beat Ironi Nahariya 104-70 in the game that closed the first week of the second round, and improved to 7-3. Lior Eliyahu got some minutes and produced 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead Maccabi. 48 hours before its crucial ULEB Cup game against Turow, Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem is back on the winning track in the Israeli League, and this one had a special taste. A 92-97 road win against Giloba/Afula raised Hapoel to 6-4 while the losing side fell to 3-7 at the bottom of the standings. Hapoel Galil Elyon shares the last place and the same record with Gilboa/Afula after a 97-82 loss at Holon. In other two games this week Rishon Lezion earned a key 65-77 road win at Ashkelon as Cedrick Banks scored 16, while Bnei Hasharon improved to 7-3 as well after a 94-81 home win over Ironi Ramat Gan behind 14 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists from Ndudi Ebi.
Maccabi will spend another week sharing the first place in the standings with Bnei Hasharon after an easy 104-70 win over Ironi Nahariya. In the first game of the season, Maccabi needed a late steal and layup by Vonteego Cummings, but this time it was much easier. Maccabi took a 27-19 lead after one quarter, and after Nikola Vujcic took the court, extended the lead to 55-38 at halftime. Lior Eliyahu with big minutes in the third quarter helped Maccabi to send another statement to the league and finish a big individual performance with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Nahariya, who lost Matan Naor late in the first half due to a leg injury, had no answer to the locals' dominance and the final difference was set on 34. Esteban Batista joined Eliyahu with 16 points, Alex Garcia added 13, Yotam Halperin had 12 while Omri Casspi finished with 10 points. Ido Kozikaro was the top scorer of Nahariya with 16 points.
Hapoel had to wait until the second half of January to earn its first road win of the season with a 92-97 victory at Gilboa/Afula. It was also Gilboa/Afula’s first home loss this season. Hapoel faced two former players – Lamont Jones and Tunji Awojobi but suffered mostly from Ekene Ibekwe who dominated the paint in the first half with 15 points and 7 rebounds to keep the locals close. Dror Hagag hit a mid-court bucket at the halftime buzzer to set the score on 48-46 after two quarters and give his team a big boost, but didn't change the path of the game. The lead continued to change hands deep in the second half before Sharon Shason beat the shot clock with a big three-pointer to make it 89-94 less than three minutes to go. Gilboa/Afula made one last effort and had a chance to tie the score, but Gur Porat missed an open three in the last seconds and Hapoel secured the win. Six played scored in double digits for Hapoel led by 21 points and 7 assists by Timmy Bowers. Guy Pnini added 19 with 5 boards and 5 dishes, while Ramel Curry added 16 with 4 assists. Ibekwe led the losing side with 27 points behind 9 out of 10 from both the field and the free-throw line in addition to 10 rebounds.
Hapoel Holon finished its penalty of playing four home games without it fans and set for their fans a great welcome with a 97-82 win over Galil Elyon. Holon took over the game right from the start, and didn't leave much of a choice for the visitors. Moran Roth, another former Galil player, hit a three-point shot with the buzzer to give Holon a 26-17 lead after 10 minutes. Galil couldn't match the power and athleticism of Holon and stood 18 points behind before the locals calmed down for a while. A 53-34 difference at halftime was just a sign of things to come. A 5-0 start for the second half increased the margin to 24 in favor of Holon, but Galil showed pride and managed to narrow the gap to 76-63 by the end of the quarter. Galil cut some more off the gap, but an alley-oop by two former Euroleague players, Amit Tamir to Eric Campbell, sent out a clear message, enough to secure a 15-point win. Galil saw its former player, Tre Simmons, who moved this summer to Holon, lead with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Campbell added 18 points with 14 rebounds and Chris Watson had 14. Galil enjoyed 21 points and 5 assists by Aaron Nixon while Jai Lewis and Mike Campbell added 13 each.
LAST GAME GAME 10
January 20-21, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Jan. 20 | Eldan Ashkelon vs. Rishon | 65-77 | | Jan. 21 | Maccabi Elite vs. Irony Iscar | 104-70 | | Jan. 20 | Hapoel Holon vs. Galil Elion | 97-82 | | Jan. 20 | Bnei Hasharon vs. Irony R. | 94-81 | | Jan. 20 | Gilboa/Afula vs. Hapoel Jer. | 92-97 |
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NEXT GAME GAME 11
January 27-28, 2008 | | Day | Match | | Jan. 27 | Gilboa/Afula vs. Ashkelon | | Jan. 27 | Hapoel Jer. vs. Hasharon | | Jan. 27 | Irony Ramat vs. H. Holon | | Jan. 27 | Galil Elion vs. Maccabi Elite | | Jan. 27 | Irony Iscar vs. R. Lezion |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv | 10 | 7 | 3 | 912 | 823 | | 2 | Bnei Hasharon | 10 | 7 | 3 | 829 | 772 | | 3 | Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem | 10 | 6 | 4 | 836 | 804 | | 4 | Hapoel Holon | 10 | 6 | 4 | 792 | 734 | | 5 | Irony Ramat Gan | 10 | 5 | 5 | 897 | 889 | | 6 | Irony Iscar Naharya | 10 | 5 | 5 | 839 | 854 | | 7 | Rishon Lezion | 10 | 4 | 6 | 780 | 794 | | 8 | Eldan Ashkelon | 10 | 4 | 6 | 836 | 903 | | 9 | Altshuler Saham Galil Elion | 10 | 3 | 7 | 878 | 957 | | 10 | Hapoel Gilboa/Afula | 10 | 3 | 7 | 797 | 866 |
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Yarone Arbel, Tel Aviv
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