After the away victories of the champion Maccabi Rishon LeZion and the holder of the Hapoel Ashdod State Cup (which will meet in the semifinals) last night in Holon (33:26) and Kiryat Motzkin (33:29), respectively, AS Ramat Hasharon returned to first place tonight after beating On Hapoel Rishon Lezion 27:35 (Ramat Hasharon leads by one point over Ashdod II and two over Maccabi Rishon Lezion III. For Hapoel Rishon Lezion it was the seventh loss this season and it could end in fifth place – without a home advantage in the expected quarterfinal series against Holon). Ramat Hasharon’s rival, Bnei Herzliya, recorded a 37:41 victory over Hapoel Kiryat Ono – two that are expected to officially guarantee a place in the playoffs from the lower house, maybe even this weekend (there will be completion games in the lower house).
The drama in the lower house – after last night’s victory of AK Ness Ziona – 28:30 in Beer Sheva, tonight the team from the Negev capital officially separates from the Premier League – following the away victory of Hapoel Hevel Eilot in Dimona 29:28. Referee and Eilot with 14 points each above the red line, Dimona below him with 11 points. BS as stated with only two.
Upper house
AS Ramat Hasharon defeated Hapoel Rishon Lezion 27:35. After a close first half, she introduced a purposeful second half and returned to first place. Hapoel Rishon Lezion lost an opportunity to narrow the gap from Holon to a point. Idan Maimon’s team announced last night the addition of Montenegrin midfielder Nemanja Diorskovic (22, 1.90 m), who has a past in the youth teams in his country, who will replace Stefan Ilyich who moved to Ashdod during the break. Tonight he finished goalless. Tal Hershkovitz led the Ramat Hasharon scorers with 6 goals, Ivan Moshic with 5, Marco Chorcic, Amit Mottola and Daniel Tzarfati 4 each. At Hapoel – Eran Tzarfati 5, Nadav Cohen and Oz Hammami 4 each.
Lower house
Maccabi Dimona surrendered at home to Hapoel Hevel Eilot 29:28. The newcomer from the Arava took a significant step towards staying tonight, and apart from the fact that she opened a 3-point advantage over Dimona below the red line – also in direct relation to her – in case of a tie at the end of the lower house – she will survive thanks to a third victory over her this season. In the previous meeting, Eilot won 25:26). Dimona’s situation also gets complicated following last night’s victory of Ness Ziona in Be’er Sheva. It seems that only two victories over neighboring Beer Sheva in the next two games (one of them complete) – can confirm the situation of Dimona. Kesem Amiel, the king of the Winner League goals, added another 7 goals to his balance tonight in the ranks of Eilot. Gal Caspi contributed 6, Noam Niv Hayat and Igor Radojevic 5 each were among the prominent scorers in the team from the Arava.
Bnei Herzliya – Hapoel Kiryat Ono 37:41
Herzliya may not be at its peak before the semi-finals of the State Cup, but it is recovering from the scorching loss in Ness Ziona. She achieves a victory tonight that almost finally guarantees her a place in the playoffs. Kiryat Ono is likely to secure it this weekend, although it is recording its second consecutive loss tonight (despite 14 goals scored by Tariq Kasumovic).
Also in volleyball, two games were played tonight in the upper house and two in the lower house.
Upper house
Maccabi Tel Aviv – Hapoel Kfar Saba 0: 3
Maccabi Tel Aviv looks great ahead of the State Cup quarterfinal game against Hapoel Galil Mate Asher / Acre this coming Saturday. Kfar Saba, which showed a good game today, looks ready for its game in the quarterfinals of the State Cup, where it will meet Maccabi Mosinson Hod Hasharon on Friday.
Hapoel Urban Kiryat Ata – Maccabi Mosinson Hod Hasharon 0: 3
Great game tonight in Kiryat Ata when the local Hapoel wins the game after an even game, especially in the first two sets. Following the victory, Kiryat Ata skips over Hod Hasharon in the table, but Hod Hasharon has one last game missing against Hapoel Kfar Saba, one point in the game will be enough for it to return to fifth place in the top house when in a certain situation, if it wins it can also reach fourth place.
In Kiryat Ata, the best stood out: Lishchenks with 16 points and Zumti with 12 points
In Hod Hasharon we excelled: Goz with 13 points and Tabakon with 12 points
Lower house
Hapoel Jerusalem – Hapoel HaMa’apil / Emek Hefer / Menashe 2: 3
One of the most exciting games of the year took place tonight in Jerusalem, for almost two hours the two teams played tonight in a fickle game that seemed to go in the direction of the illegal immigrant after the third set in which they won, but Jerusalem recovered and won the fourth. The fifth set was very close when from a 4: 4 situation, Jerusalem makes 3 consecutive points and maintains the small advantage until the victory in the set and in the entire game. Following the victory, Jerusalem rises to second place leading to the playoffs, but Ma’apil has another game missing against Hapoel Rehovot – a point where it will ensure the team’s participation in the playoffs at the expense of Jerusalem.
Hapoel Jerusalem excelled: Jarois with 23 points and Sikoko with 21 points. Ma’apil excelled: a member with 21 points and Hillman with 19 points.
KK Tel Aviv – Academy team 3: 0
The academy team with a fourth win of the season, KK before the last round is still without a win of the season. Midfielder Lior Kopilowitz, who is only in the ninth grade, excelled in the academy team. Point leaders, in the academy team: Rora with 17 points and Lieberman with 16 points. BK Tel Aviv: Uziel with 7 points.