The 15th round of the National Basketball League continues tonight (Tuesday) with four games, at the end of which Hapoel Afula is at the top after a great victory in Nahariya and a home loss by Elizur Ashkelon to Maccabi Ra’anana. Maccabi Maale Adumim returned to winning after three consecutive losses and completed a double victory over the Greens from the Carmel. Elitzur Netanya beat Maccabi Rehovot 80:91, with the cycle being completed on Friday with the match between Elitzur Shomron and Maccabi Urban Ramat Gan. The gap between first and seventh place – only 2 wins.
Ironi Nahariya – Hapoel Afula 70:65
A double win this season for Hapoel Afula who returns to first place, thanks to the loss of Elizur Ashkelon. Roi Pearl’s team showed great defense and took the lead from the first quarter until the end. On the other hand, Nahariya lost Dominez Brent in the last quarter due to an Achilles injury and suffered a second loss in the last three games. Jimmy Hall dominated the court with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Both teams started the game aggressively and decorated to produce points, 13:8 for Afola after the first quarter. Even at the beginning of the second quarter, the trend continued, and a three-pointer by Tom Spector with points by Daniel Najer increased the gap to 22:12. Omer Tal and Ohad Dekal left, but Afula’s defense continued to work well and in this half it was 33:23. At the start of the third quarter, the Purples offset to 37:30, but Turalian Fitzpatrick and Tom Spector made sure to increase the advantage to 46:34. Nahariya struggled to generate points and ended the third quarter trailing 48:37.
Even at the start of the last quarter, the Afulaites dominated, except that 6 minutes to the end Dominez Brent injured his Achilles and with a lot of enthusiasm from Omer Poleg, the gap dropped to 57:51, 4 minutes to the end. Isaiah Eisendorf scored two three-pointers in a row and it’s only 62:58, 2 and a half minutes to go. Yogev Ohion scored a critical three-pointer, and Isaiah Eisendorf missed twice from the line about a minute before the end. In a critical attack, Afula took an offensive rebound and Tomer Assig found Lucas Goldenberg for easy points that made it 63:69, 33 seconds to the end, but from here Nahariya was unable to come back and suffered a home loss.
Scorers for Nahariya City: Romelo White 14 pts, Isiah Eisendorf 13 pts, Yogev Ohion 10 pts, Dominez Burnett 9 pts, Omer Folg 7 pts, Omer Tal 6 pts, Alex Chubarevich and Ohad Dekal 3 pts 21.
Scorers for Hapoel Afula: Jimmy Hall (14 rebounds) 23 points, Turalian Fitzpatrick 14 points, Tomer Assig (9 assists), Tom Spector and Lucas Goldenberg 9 points 21, Dor Enbi 3 points, Daniel Neg R 2 pts, Roi Natsia 1 pts.
Maccabi Ma’ale Adumim – Maccabi Haifa 78:89
A big win for Maccabi Ma’ale Adumim that breaks a streak of three losses. Yair Gvirtz’s team did not start the game well and fell behind by two digits in the second quarter, but in the second half there was only one team on the floor. Maccabi Ma’ale Adumim, who recorded a double against the greens, was helped by a season’s high of Ariel Deri (18 points) and Eddy Akure provided another good game with an impressive double-double.
The greens started the game great and took the lead 2:9, when the locals did not score a field goal for 5 minutes. Yair Gvirtz’s timeout didn’t help either and with DJ Sharp’s 3-pointer the board showed 21:13. The locals faltered at the start of the second quarter, but the greens responded with 9 consecutive points – 32:20. Good minutes by Edi Akure and Ben Ivri narrowed the gap to 40:34 at halftime. The momentum continued at the start of the third quarter and a 4-14 run gave the Reds a 44:48 advantage.
Edmon Gilder responded with 5 points in a row, and the close game continued – 60:65 for two after three quarters. Edmon Gilder and Richard Howell put their team back in front at the start of the last quarter. Both teams lost a lot, but the visitors from Carmel didn’t play offensively either, and a three-pointer by Simcha Halpert established a record lead, 70:79 for the Reds 4 minutes to the end. From here until the end the advantage increased on the way to a local victory.
The Reds scored: Edi Akure (17 rebounds, 9/12 from the field) 25 points, Ariel Deri 18 points, Ido Shabbat 15 points, Simcha Halpert 14 points, Ben Ivri 7 points, Noam Akrish 6 points, Matan Chakmo and Alon Sasson 2 point 21.
Scorers for Maccabi Haifa: Edmon Gilder 23 pts, Richard Howell 14 pts, Ofek Malka and Eli Aviv (15 rebounds) 10 pts, Danel Khozhinoff 7 pts, DJ Sharp 6 pts, Daniel Koperberg 5 points, Tomer Cohen 3 points.
Elitzur Ashkelon – Maccabi City Ra’anana 85:69
A big victory for Maccabi Ironi Ra’anana which marks the sixth win in a row. Nir Kaplan’s team dominated throughout the game and once again benefited from a significant contribution from Alon Sapir who finished with 16 points. On the other hand, for the Southerners it is a third loss in the last three games and above all – the offensive game was not flowing and Avi Sukar’s team scored 6 three-pointers at only 28 percent.
Willy Workman, Alon Sapir and Rom Geffen gave their team an early advantage. Avi Sukar’s team tightened the defense and with points in the paint and a three-pointer by Clark Rosenberg it’s only 23:21 after the first quarter. Jason Seegers and Alon Sapir increased the gap at the beginning of the second quarter to 26:33. Jaylen Canty added points in the paint and with a 3-pointer by Daniel Hillel the guests took a record lead of 32:46.
Not much changed in the third quarter, when Nir Kaplan’s team maintained its advantage Alon Sapir and Willy Workman overcame the home team’s comeback attempt at the start of the last quarter, and the gap increased to 77:59. From here until the end of Maccabi Urban Ra’anana, she continued on her way to an impressive victory.
Scorers for Elitzur Ashkelon: Thomas Gipson 20 points, Dekrai Tucker and Giv David 9 points, 21 points, Gal Gilinsky and Shlomi Harosh 7 points, 21 points Yanir Binyamin 6 points, Clark Rosenberg 5 points, Omer Ben David 4 points, Raviv Pitshon 2 points.
Scorers for Maccabi City Ra’anana: Jason Segers 20 points, Jaylen Canty 18 points, Alon Sapir (6 assists) 16 points, Willie Workman (10 rebounds, 5 assists) 15 points, Rom Geffen 9 points, Daniel Hillel 3 points, Jordan Lewis and Alex Leder 2 points 21.
Elizur Netanya – Maccabi Rehovot 80:91
An important victory for Elizur Netanya, which maintains a clean record of losses in the second round. Ruben Neuberger’s team led a man in the first quarter with a double-digit advantage mainly thanks to three-point range (14 three-pointers in 46 percent of the game). In the second half, Maccabi Rehovot made a comeback, but every time it happened, Netanya had the answers.
The hosts opened the game with a three-point range and higher shooting percentages than all ranges that they set 17:29 after the first quarter. Also at the opening. The long third quarter continued and with two three-pointers in a row the gap increased to 19:38. Yahal Peleg also made a three-pointer, but until halftime Kobi Hasson’s team managed to shrink to 37:52.
At the start of the third quarter, both teams played outside the arc, and the local advantage was preserved. Brent Jackson took command and began to offset the gap that went down to single digits. At the end of the third quarter 55:68 for the hosts. The game became physical and a 4:10 run by the Blues cut the score to 65:72, 6 minutes to go. Ruben Neiberger’s team answered with 5 points in a row, and hence secured the victory.
Scorers for Elitzur Netanya: Justin Robinson 24 pts, Eitan Borg (8 assists) 17 pts, El Wahid Aminu 12 pts, Dori Sahar 10 pts, Daniel Reuven 8 pts, Ariel Isaac 6 pts, Yahal Peleg and Marcus Geller 5 points 21, Nadav Sahar 3 points, Yonatan Atias 1 point.
Scorers for Maccabi Rehovot: Alonzo Coleman (17/23 from the line) 23 points, Brent Jackson 17 points, Josh Freund 16 points, Shay Guetta 8 points, Yevgeny Kholodov 6 points, Chris Smith 4 points, Idan Rajvan and Tomer Abramovich 3 points 21.