Hapoel Gilboa/Galil came back from the break a little sleepy, after surrendering to table-topper Hapoel Eilat, this evening (Monday) at their home in Bagan Ner as part of the sixth round of the Winner Basket League. The trainees of Ariel Beit Lahemi came back from the break in high spirits, and showed that their place is not at the bottom of the table after a very convincing 82:94 victory against Rami Hadar’s team, which was left in shock against the last in the league.
At the start of the game, it seemed that the group from the Galilee came ready to fight, when they started well with a three-pointer and a basket by Amit Ziss and another three-pointer by Peyton Willis, who quickly opened up an 8-point lead. From that moment on, nothing will ever be the same. The trainees of Beit Halami went on a 2:14 run and sealed the quarter with a 19:24 advantage. With the opening of the second quarter, it was possible to see that the leader of the table arrived at Gan Ner with no feelings of inferiority at all. Eric Griffin’s leadership was evident when he finished the first half with 14 points and helped his teammates sign a great half and lead 38:45 at the break.
The second half started the same way the first part of the game ended. The team from Beit Lahemi came out like the muzzle of a cannon to a 3:9 run in five minutes, did not allow the northerners to develop attacks and take control of rebounds in the attack, thereby establishing the advantage at the end of the third quarter with 18 points in their favor. The home team started the last quarter well with an 0:8 run, but then responded with points for every point they scored. Rami Hadar’s team managed to sweeten the bitter loss a little by reducing the difference, but did not manage to surpass the last team in the table and finally surrendered 82:94 to Hapoel Eilat.
Hadar and his trainees from the Galilee are expected to meet in the next round Kiryat Ata City, who are next to them in the table, and will hope to win away and recover at their own expense after two consecutive losses. On the other hand, Hapoel Eilat and Ariel Beit Lahemi will host Lior Liubin’s Hapoel Beer Sheva at home, and will try to score a second win in a row with the help of the local fans and rise from last place in the league.
Scored for Hapoel Gilboa/Galil: Justin Gorham 16 points, Josh Perkins 15 points, Amit Ziss 13 points, Chad Brown 12 points, Peyton Willis 11 points, Daniel Guetta 8 points, Rashard Odoms 4 points, Tsuf Ben Moshe 2 points and Benya Seror with 1 point.
Scored for Hapoel Eilat: Eric Griffin 22 points, Nathaniel Artzi 19 points, Emmanuel Lacomte and DJ Funderbrook with 18 points each, Noam Avivi 12 points and Jared Terrell with 5 points.
First quarter: 19:24 Hapoel Eilat
Gilboa/Galil quintet: Josh Perkins, Amit Ziss, Peyton Willis, Justin Gorham and Chad Brown.
The Hapoel Eilat quintet: DJ Funderbrook, Amit Gershon, Emmanuel Lacomte, Nathaniel Artzi and Eric Griffin.
Amit Zis scored a half-distance shot and scored the first points, Chad Brown added with a great Eli-Hop and brought Gilboa/Galil to 0:4. Ziss continued the positive start with a triple that raised his team to 2:7. Eilat managed to get back into business and Eric Griffin scored twice and shrunk to just one point, 10:9. Two more dunks by Griffin gave the guest a 5 lead when the clock showed two and a half minutes to the end of the quarter. A half-distance shot by Perkins faltered a bit, but was answered with two by Griffin from the free throw and another great dunk by the forward that increased the gap to double digits. Gorham with his first of the evening, and right after him Perkins with a great entry scored and squeezed the foul that also entered and thus reduced the result of the quarter which was locked at 19:24 for Hapoel Eilat.
Second quarter: 38:45 to Hapoel Eilat
The first points of the second quarter came from two good free throws by DJ Funderbrook, and was answered with an easy basket from Brown on the other end. Noam Avivi added his first two points, and Penderbrook added with a great basket that increased the lead back to 9. Odoms completed a great dunk after a turnover by the home team, sending the teams into timeout with a 7-point difference. Avivi with a good offensive rebound completed a second basket of his own, and Jared Terrell sent Daniel Guetta to the line after an unsportsmanlike foul, which was completed successfully and established an 11-point lead for the visitors.
Nathaniel Artzi completed 9 points of his own after getting into the paint great and scoring well. Benya Seror missed two free throws and allowed the students of Beit HaLhami to increase the lead to 13 with another great basket by Artzi. Ziss scored another three, but was answered with a good layup by Griffin on the other side. Ziss completed 3 from 3 to 3, and answered with a 3-pointer from Emanuel Lacomet, but Guetta also ran and even recorded one of his own which made it 38:45 for Hapoel Eilat at the end of the first half.
Third quarter: 54:72 to Hapoel Eilat
Odoms opened the second half with a good basket of his own, but on the other side he answered with a basket by Artzi who scored double-digit points for himself, but on the other side Perkins answered with a good three-pointer that reduced the lead to only 3. A nice dunk by Funderbrook was added to another three-pointer by Griffin who had already scored 17 points and brought his team back to a 10-point lead.
Brown gave a nervous alley-oop, but Artzi responded with another 3-pointer at the other end, and in the ensuing layup the latter added a great assist to Griffin that pushed the lead back to 11 in favor of the Southerners. Griffin completed 22 points with another great 3-pointer at the end of the clock, and after the locals lost, Lacomte added 2 more from half distance that raised a record lead of 14 points. In the last three minutes of the quarter, 5 free throws by the guest went in, compared to one by the host, which brought the teams to the break at 54:72 to Hapoel Eilat.
Fourth quarter: 82:94 to Hapoel Eilat
Perkins opened the last quarter with a good basket, and again Artzi answered with a three-pointer on the other end. Gilboa didn’t give up and Gorham scored a basket and squeezed the foul, and during the following he put in an illusory chip and added two more points, but Avivi answered with a 3-pointer that stopped the home team’s 0:8 run. A great roof by Brown sent the ball straight into the hands of Terrell on the 3-point line who had no trouble scoring and establishing a 15-point lead with six minutes to go. An offensive rebound by Funderbrook was met with a great dunk by Gorham, who then committed an unsportsmanlike foul and was sent off with 5 fouls. Daniel Guetta added a three-pointer to sweeten the loss a little, but immediately responded with a good jump shot by Lacomte. Brown’s dunk at the end wasn’t enough either, and determined an 82:94 victory in favor of Hapoel Eilat at the end.
