Israeli League, Regular Season, Game 15: March 2-3, 2008
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Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv lost an Israeli League home game for the first time in three years on Sunday when the defending champs were upset 78-86 by Bnei Hasharon, which narrowed the gap between the teams atop the standings to a single win. Maccabi, which also lost for the first time in the Israeli League since head coach Zvika Sherf took over, dropped to 11-4 while Bnei Hasharon stands at 10-5. Jason Williams finished a big night with 31 points and Meir Tapiro added 18 points with 7 assists for Bnei Hasharon. Meanwhile Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem’s road woes continued with an 85-82 loss at Ironi Nahariya, despite 13 points and 7 assists from Timmy Bowers. Ashante Johnson paced Nahariya with 22 points on a perfect shooting night. Hapoel Holon is tied with Bnei Hasharon with a 10-5 mark after a big 90-74 home win over Ironi Ashkelon. Amit Tamir had a big night with 23 points on 7 successful three-pointers out of 9 attempts. In other games, Rishon Lezion recovered from an aching home loss to Jerusalem with a 93-100 road win at Gilboa/Afula, and Ironi Ramat Gan stayed high in the standings with a 100-92 home win over Galil Elyon.
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv lost an Israeli League home game for the first time in three years on Sunday when the defending champs were upset 78-86 by Bnei Hasharon, which narrowed the gap between the teams atop the standings to a single win. Bnei Hasharon, which beat Maccabi at home earlier this season, joined Lietuvos Rytas as the only teams to beat Maccabi twice this season. Bnei Hasharon showed up to the game without its key swingman Cookie Belcher while Maccabi, decided not to danger Nikola Vujcic before the key Top 16 home game on Thursday against Olympiacos and he sat the entire 40 minutes. Maccabi took an early lead, reached the double-digit margin early in the second quarter, 32-22, and despite some good minutes by Meir Tapiro and Jason Williams, finished the first half up 46-39. Maccabi crossed again the 10-point barrier and during most of the third kept Bnei Hasharon behind by 8-15 points. However Williams soon took over. He scored 5 points in a row to finish the third quarter down 65-60 and carried Bnei Hasharon to complete a big 0-12 run to take a 65-67 lead. Maccabi didn't react well, and saw the visiting side climb to a 9-point lead, 71-80 Tapiro stepped up in the last minutes to make sure this win will stay in Bnei Hasharon's hands. Williams finished a big night with 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting. Tapiro added 18 points with 7 assists, while Ndudi Ebi had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Ousmane Cisse scored 12. Maccabi got 20 points from Halperin, Esteban Batista added 12 points with 8 rebounds and Alex Garcia scored 12 as well.
Hapoel Jerusalem signed point guard Orien Greene last week, but didn't use him in the 85-82 road loss at Ironi Nahariya. The hosts needed this win after back-to-back losses and fought hard for every ball. Nahariya has two former Hapoel players – Matan Naor and Ido Kozikaro – while Sharon Shason and Erez Markovic came back to where they made their break-through seasons. Timmy Bowers gave Hapoel a 15-20 lead after one quarter, but Nahariya took the lead to its hands before halftime although Dror Hagag tied the score at 43-43 before the buzzer. Nahariya maintained a small lead throughout the entire third quarter and behind a run of Adrian Pledger and John Gilchrist climbed to a 69-61 lead. Shason with 4 points made it a close game again and a corner three-pointer by Hagag tied the game at 82-82 less than a minute to go. Avi Sukar sank only one foul shot, but saw Hagag slash to the rim and miss before Ashante Johnson sealed the win from the line. Johnson finished as the top scorer with 22 points and just a single miss from the field, Pledger added 17 and Otis Hill had 16. Markovic scored 15 points without a single missed shot, Jaime Arnold added 14 with 7 rebounds and Bowers scored 13 with 7 assists.
LAST GAME GAME 15
March 2-3, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Mar. 2 | Hapoel Holon vs. Ashkelon | 90-74 | | Mar. 2 | Gilboa/Afula vs. Rishon | 93-100 | | Mar. 3 | Nahariya vs. Hapoel Jer. | 85-82 | | Mar. 2 | Ramat Gan vs. Galil Elion | 100-92 | | Mar. 2 | Maccabi Elite vs. Hasharon | 78-86 |
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NEXT GAME GAME 16
March 9-10, 2008 | | Day | Match | | Mar. 9 | Eldan vs. Irony Ramat Gan | | Mar. 9 | Galil Elion vs. Hapoel Jer. | | Mar. 9 | Nahariya vs. Gilboa/Afula | | Mar. 9 | Rishon Lezion vs. Hasharon | | Mar. 9 | Maccabi Elite vs. H. Holon |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv | 15 | 11 | 4 | 1374 | 1217 | | 2 | B. Hashron | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1200 | 1128 | | 3 | H. Holon | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1240 | 1127 | | 4 | Ramat Gan | 15 | 9 | 6 | 1346 | 1363 | | 5 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 15 | 8 | 7 | 1240 | 1234 | | 6 | Nahariya | 15 | 8 | 7 | 1251 | 1250 | | 7 | Ashkelon | 15 | 5 | 10 | 1231 | 1338 | | 8 | M. Rishon | 15 | 5 | 10 | 1203 | 1220 | | 9 | Galil | 15 | 5 | 10 | 1292 | 1405 | | 10 | Gilboa/Afula | 15 | 4 | 11 | 1206 | 1301 |
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Yarone Arbel, Tel Aviv
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