Israeli League, Regular Season, Game 15: March 1-2, 2009 - ISRAEL

May 19, 2013

Israeli League, Regular Season, Game 15: March 1-2, 2009

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv won its seventh straight game to take sole possession of first place in the Israeli Basketball Super League on Sunday. Maccabi hosted last place Ironi Kiryat Ata and pulled away on the fourth quarter for a 102-80 triumph to improve to 13-2 record. Carlos Arroyo paced the Maccabi attack with 19 points. Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem dropped a win back of Maccabi after suffering a 108-92 road loss at Ironi Ramat Gan as Mike Helms scored 35 for the winners, and Yuval Naimi led the losing side with 19. Bnei Hasharon earned an 80-76 home victory over Ironi Nahariya. Elsewhere around the league, Ironi Ashkelon, without the suspended Steve Burtt, bested Givat Shmuel 73-68. Ashkelon was down 54-67 with six minutes to play but used a 19-1 run to complete a big comeback. Rashon Turner led the winners with 22 points and 13 boards. Yonatan Nir scored 16 for Givat Shmuel and Itay Greenboim added 15. Hapoel Holon hosts Rishon Lezion and Maccabi Haifa Heat takes on Galil/Gilboa on Monday.

Maccabi's 22-point win over Kiryat Ata didn't shock anyone, but the fact the visitors were still in the game after three quarters did. Six minutes into the game the visitors still held a lead before Carlos Arroyo took charge and together with D'or Fischer led Maccabi on an 11-0 run right. Charles Gaines and Marcus Brown collected points, but couldn't create a deciding run. Seven points in a row by Kiryat Ata to finish the half made it just 43-37 at the break. Another run, this time 9 unanswered points, gave Maccabi a 54-40 gap early in the second half, but it still wasn't enough to break the underdogs. Draelon Burns hit from long distance to cut the margin to 68-61 before the third-period buzzer, but that was also the last sign of life for his team. Arroyo, Gaines and Lior Eliyahu combined for some quick points as Maccabi scored the first 12 points of the last quarter and cruised to victory. Arroyo led Maccabi with 19 points, Eliyahu and Marcus Brown added 17 each and Gaines was worth 15 points, 7 boards and 3 blocks. Barnes led Ata with 26 points.

Nahariya arrived to Ra'anana after a hectic week revolving around financial troubles. Big guy Aaron McGhee was released for that reason only a few hours before tip off and the players had been on strike for four days before the game. Nevertheless, the group from the north showed great character and fought till the buzzer, enough to be just an inch from a shocking win, but eventually lost 80-76. Bnei Hasharon enjoyed the better start, as Cookie Belcher hit three times from downtown and Meir Tapiro added another on the way to a 16-6 lead. Their teammates got involved in the game as Bnei Hasharon maintained the lead and finished the first quarter up 24-16. Ron Lewis was in range, but Belcher was still the right man for Bnei Hasharon, which entered the break up 50-40. Former Bnei Hasharon player, Jason Williams, collected points, but Belcher again and Richard Roby paid back with the same coin. Bnei Hasharon still held a 67-54 lead early in the fourth before Robert Rothbart and Raviv Limonad took charge to bring the guests as close as 3 with three minutes to play. Erez Katz scored from long distance, but Limonad didn't give up and with 4 points made it 75-74. Katz again hit from the arc to display big winning mentality, before Ugonna Onyekwe sealed the score from the line. Belcher with 21 points in a big night led the winners. Tapiro followed with 15 and Onyekwe had 10 with 12 rebounds. Raviv Limonad had 17 for the losing side followed by Phil Ricci with 16 and 10 boards and Lewis with 15.

LAST GAME GAME 15 March 1-2, 2009
Day	Match	Result
Mar. 1	Ramat Gan vs. Hapoel J.	108-92
Mar. 1	B. Hashron vs. Nahariya	80-76
Mar. 2	H. Holon vs. M. Rishon	107-106
Mar. 1	Ashkelon vs. Givat Shmuel	73-68
Mar. 2	Heat Haifa vs. Gilboa Galil	72-79
Mar. 1	Maccabi vs. Kiryat Ata	102-80

NEXT GAME GAME 16 March 8-9, 2009
Day	Match
Mar. 8	Kiryat Ata vs. B. Hashron
Mar. 8	Givat Shmuel vs. Maccabi
Mar. 8	M. Rishon vs. Ashkelon
Mar. 9	Nahariya vs. Ramat Gan
Mar. 9	Gilboa Galil vs. H. Holon
Mar. 8	Hapoel J. vs. Heat Haifa

	STANDINGS	TG	W	L	P+	P-
1	Maccabi Electra	15	13	2	1371	1095
2	Hapoel Jerusalem	15	12	3	1359	1259
3	Heat Haifa	15	10	5	1189	1081
4	Bnei Hashron	15	9	6	1133	1160
5	Gilboa Galil	15	8	7	1171	1155
6	H. Holon	15	8	7	1258	1222
7	Givat Shmuel	15	7	8	1188	1210
8	Nahariya	15	6	9	1253	1227
9	Ramat Gan	15	6	9	1179	1285
10	Ashkelon	15	5	10	1203	1234
11	M. Rishon	15	4	11	1208	1312
12	Kiryat Ata	15	2	13	1150	1422