Two of the most enjoyable teams to watch this season in the Winner Basket League meet at this time in the heart of the colony, when the local Ness Ziona hosts the leader of the table, Hapoel Tel Aviv, as part of the 15th round.
Hapoel Tel Aviv came into the game with tremendous momentum. Danny Franco’s team climbed to first place in the table, after a dramatic 95:96 at home against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the derby. In the Eurocup, the team registered its fifth victory in a row, an equally dramatic 82:84 over Turk Telecom.
Ironi Nes Ziona was defeated for the fourth time in the last five rounds, when for the third time in this series of games they suffered a triple digit amount of points, 101:81 at home to Hapoel Holon.
First quarter: 15:17 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Ness Ziona urban quintet: Tyler Bay, Shaq Buchanan, Golan Gott, DJ Cooper and Jerome Mainsey.
Hapoel Tel Aviv Quintet: Xavier Manford, Bar Timur, Chinano Onuaku, Jacob Brown and Tomer Ginat.
After a minute and a half, Mainsy recorded the first basket of the game from the corner, and his block too later sent Bay into a burst which he ended with a dunk, when Manford with a jump shot brought up a score for the guest. Mainsy recorded his fourth block in less than five minutes and his sixth point, but Timur Vaginat’s 0-6 run tied the score at 10. The little struggle was completed with Jacoben’s 3-pointer at 10:13, when Mainsy stopped the run with a floater in the paint. Bay cut to minus two and Raz Adam could have given his team the lead at the buzzer to end the quarter, but scored an airball from the corner.
Second quarter: 31:38 to Hapoel Tel Aviv
At the start of the quarter, the Reds took their record lead with 19:24 after Brown penetrated nicely and provided an assist to Adam Ariel’s three-pointer, but Cooper quickly reduced the lead to three with a pass to Levinson and forced a timeout on Franco. The Reds came back from the timeout with Onuaku scoring two under the paint and another two with his famous “grandma” shot from the line, a record lead in the game with 21:28 for Hapoel Tel Aviv, when Ginat’s two were already too much for Hassin who took a time out himself. The Whites came back with two 3-pointers by Harel that reduced the score to 30:27, which made it Franco’s turn to take the timeout.
The good comebacks from the timeouts continued as this time the Reds went up by nine after four points by Manford and a dunk by Hurd, with Bay able to stop the run at the other end with a nice penetration. Harrell brought it down to five, Timur replied with two from the line and Cooper had a chance for a last attack in the half, but lost a ball and left the gap at seven.
Third quarter: 57:59 for Nes Ziona City
The host started with a 0:5 run, Ginat returned fire and then Tyler Bey arrived with a monstrous dunk to make the score 38:40 for the Reds. Raz Adam, against the former, with two of two from the line and Mainsy with one of two established a comeback and a white advantage, with the latter also adding from half distance to establish 40:43. Manford reduced the difference to a point, when Onuaku’s two fouls on Mainsy gave the latter four shots from the line, but luckily for the Hapoel center, he scored only two of them and Onuaku added a dunk on the other side of the court. A big 3-pointer by McRae tied the score, Mancey responded and restored the lead by two with Cooper’s 10th assist to close out the quarter.
fourth quarter
Timur and Brown within a minute turned and gave the guest an advantage after two beautiful penetrations, but a big basket by Mainsy at the buzzer of the 24th equalized when Harrell added a foul and a basket to determine 61:64 for his team.