Israeli League Final: May 29, 2008
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For only the second time in 38 years, Euroleague runner-up Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv is not the national champion of Israel. Hapoel Holon stunned Maccabi to win the Israeli League title with a thrilling 72-73 victory in the single-game final on Thursday in Tel Aviv. At Nokia Arena, Maccabi's home court, Malik Dixon drive with 2.3 seconds remaining with the game-winning shot for Holon, which was just promoted to the Israeli top division this season. The win ended a 15-year run for Maccabi as the Israeli champion and is just the second time since 1970 that the club has failed to take the title. Maccabi slowly pulled away throughout the second half and went up 65-57 midway through the fourth quarter on a Terence Morris three-pointer. However Holon didn't quit and rallied to tie the game at 67-67 on P.J. Tucker free throws and then to take the lead on Malik Dixon three-point play. Free throws from Will Bynum and David Bluthenthal helped Maccabi tie it at 70-70 with 51.6 seconds remaining. Tucker then put Holon up 1 with 22.6 seconds left, but after a timeout, Nikola Vujcic gave Maccabi the lead with a bank shot with 6.5 seconds on the clock. Holon called timeout and called a play that left Dixon a chance to cut to the basket and he took advantage to pull off a true stunner. Tucker paced Holon with 18 points and Dixon finished with 10. Morris led Maccabi with 20 points, Vujcic had 12 and Yotam Halperin 10 in defeat.
Nikola Vujcic had a great start for Maccabi, scoring 4 points and dishing an assist to Yotam Halperin as Maccabi took a 10-3 lead after two minutes. Holon dominated the offensive board as P.J. Tucker carried Holon back in the picture, 14-12. Moran Rot was in full power and hit twice from long range to give Holon its first lead after seven minutes, but Derrick Sharp was there to tie the score at 23-23 after 10 minutes. Morris stepped up early in the second quarter and Maccabi took the lead back, but couldn't create a run. Tucker drew three quick fouls from the over-aggressive David Bluthenthal, while both teams were on a scoring drought tied at 29-29. Esteban Batista broke the tie, but Tre Simmons and Elton Brown put their team back on top. Sharp drew a foul on a three-point attempt and Alex Garcia came off the bench to score the last 4 points for Maccabi to make it 38-37 for Maccabi with 20 minutes to play in the season.
Maccabi enjoyed another good start in the second half, this time behind long-range hits by Halperin and Morris, while Holon still relayed on the offensive rebounds. Morris denied a shot and that was followed by Tre Simmons's fourth foul to force Holon to take a timeout down 48-43. Holon went on a drought, and for four minutes scored only 2 points from the line, as Maccabi took a 53-45 lead after a Morris three pointer. Just before Maccabi was about to take over the game, Malik Dixon came off the bench to hit a three. Holon's defense became more aggressive on the passing lanes, forcing 2 five-seconds violations in a row, and forcing a Maccabi timeout with the score now 53-49 with a minute to play in the third. Holon came back to within 2 and remained down 56-52 heading into the fourth quarter. Bluthenthal came back to nail a big three and Vujcic dished another big assist to Halperin as Maccabi jumped to a 65-57 lead. Holon found no inside game and missed its long range attempts to enter the last five minutes of the season down by 8. Halperin committed 2 quick fouls to reach 4 and when Maccabi lost its rhythm Holon was there to pick up 4 quick points and cut the lead in half. Sharp and Halperin fouled out, which forced Maccabi to play the last 2:30 minutes of the season with just one guard. Tucker tied the game from the line tied at 67-67 and Dixon used a mismatch to complete a three-point play and close a 2-13 run. Bynum went to the line to make it 69-70 with 72 seconds on the clock. Dixon committed a turnover and saw Bluthenthal tie it from the line with 50 seconds to play. Dixon missed from long range, but Holon was on the rebound and Tucker went to shoot two with 22.6 ticks on the clock. He made just the second and Maccabi got its chance to keep the streak alive. Vujcic got the ball to post up and with 6.5 showed what made him a Nokia Arena hero by giving Maccabi a 72-71 lead, but Holon still had one last chance. Dixon went for the last ball and slashed to the rim and shot over Morris's arm to make history.
| Final Four Finals, single game |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | | 1 | Hapoel Holon (1) - Final | 73 | | 0 | Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv (2) - Final | 72 | | 1 | Bnei Hasharon (3) - 3rd Place | 79 | | 0 | Ironi Nahariya (4) - 3rd Place | 69 | | Israeli League Champion 2007-08: Hapoel Holon |
| Final Four games | | Game 1 | Hapoel Holon vs. Ironi Nahariya | 100-89 | May 27 | | Game 1 | Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv vs. Bnei Hasharon | 57-55 | May 27 | | Game 2 | Bnei Hasharon vs. Ironi Nahariya | 79-69 | May 29 | | Game 2 | Hapoel Holon - Maccabi Elite (Final) | 73-72 | May 29 |
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Yarone Arbel, Tel Aviv
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