The 20th round of the Winner Basket League closed this evening (Monday) with a dramatic 86:90 victory of Hapoel Galil Alyion over Hapoel B.S./Dimona at the Shell Hall in the capital of the Negev, this after the northern team already trailed by 21 points, but received an amazing game of Nimrod Levy with 25 points and 16 rebounds, which helped her secure her place in the first six in the league.
As mentioned, the group from the Galilee started the game with a shock and fell behind 2:10 early when all the balls went to the host team. Kalil Ahmed, Ben Moore and David Whittington scored from all sides and the first quarter ended with a score of 17:26 in favor of the hosts. The second quarter also continued with the same trend, and Lior Liubin’s team already managed to lead by no less than 21 points, but there the trend changed. Barak Peleg’s players tightened the defense, Nimrod Levy who suffered from a bad start to the game became aggressive in the paint and began to score and take control of the rebound but at the end of the first 20 minutes BS still led safely 37:52.
The guests started the second half in a frenzy with a 2:12 run led by Wayne Langston and Dyshon Booker, when Roi Huber and Iti Moskovitz also got involved and with Nimrod Levy Shehlat in the paint, the group from the Galilee managed to fall behind by only 2 points heading into the last quarter. In the last ten minutes, the advantage shifted from side to side, and the visitors managed to increase to a 7-point advantage, but the local team did not give up, David Afiani, who suffered from a bad game, scored two three-pointers in a row and reduced the difference, but the visitors managed to close the story from the penalty line and sealed the result 86:90, which guaranteed them a place in the upper house of the Winner Basket League.
Scored for Hapoel in Sh/Dimona: Kalil Ahmed and Ben Mor 20 points KA, Joaquin Shuchman 13 pts, Greg Whittington 12 pts, David Afiani, Roy Pritsky and Igor Kolshov 6 pts KA and Ben Eisenhart 2 points.
Scored for Hapoel Galil Alyon: Nimrod Levy 25 points and 16 rebounds, Daishon Booker 20 points, Itai Moshkowitz 12 points, Roy Huber 11 points, Wayne Langston 10 points, Devin Marble and Bryce Washington 5 points KA and Lotan Amsalem 2 points.
First quarter: 17:26 Le Hapoel in “Sh/Dimona”.
The Hapoel Quintet in Sh/Dimona: Roy Pritsky, Kalil Ahmed, Igor Kulshov, Ben Moore and Greg Whittington.
The Hapoel Galil Quintet: Dayshawn Booker, Roy Huber, Lotan Amsalem, Nimrod Levy and Bryce Washington.
Greg Whittington scored the hosts’ first three points from beyond the arc. Accurate free throws and another three-pointer by Kalil Ahmed brought BS to a quick 0:8. Confusion in the defense of the locals led to the first points in the game by the team from the Galilee, from Bryce Washington. S. Nimrod Levy scored the first three-pointer of the game, but Kalil Ahmed finished with points near the ring and established a 5:12 lead for his team after six and a half minutes of play. The locals continued with the run and managed to end the quarter in a good way for them with a big shot on the buzzer that determined 17:26 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
Second quarter: 37:52 to Hapoel in “Sh/Dimona”.
The well seventy also opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and took a double-digit lead. A great steal by Joaquin Shuchman helped the hosts open a 15-point gap three minutes into the quarter and immediately after that Ben Moore completed a 2:13 run prompting Barak Peleg to call an urgent timeout. Devin Marble scored a hard basket and reached five points, after more than five minutes in the second quarter the score was 26:38 in favor of Liubin’s team. Ben Eisenhart dunked powerfully and established a 15 lead once again in favor of the Reds. The half ended with a resounding 37:52 score in favor of Hapoel B.S./Dimona.
Third quarter: 64:66 for Hapoel in “Sh/Dimona”.
Wayne Langston opened the second half with two points and reduced the gap to 13 points in favor of the locals. The visitors’ 0:6 run sent Lior Liubin to ask for the first timeout in the game to prevent the northerners from gaining momentum. Roy Huber scored the first 3-pointer of the game and reduced the difference to only eight points, closing a huge 2:15 run by the visitors from the beginning of the half. Ben Moore lowered the pressure level with two points and established a seven point lead. Three minutes to the end of the third quarter, the score stood at 57:58 per hour and the entire momentum was in the hands of the visitors from the Galilee. Devin Booker completed a huge turnaround and a 6:28 run for the guests. Kalil Ahmed missed with the buzzer, the quarter ended with the score 64:66 for the locals.
Fourth quarter: 86:90 for Hapoel Galil Upper
After two minutes into the last quarter, Liubin’s team led by only two points, and the teams exchanged baskets. Roy Huber tied the game and made it 70:70 with a hard shot. The northern team managed to take the lead with five minutes left in the game, the score was 70:75 in favor of the guests after an accurate free throw by Roy Hoover. Ben Moore scored four points in a row and reduced the difference to only two points. Nimrod Levy with a huge move completed three points from the penalty line and made it 77:83 with less than a minute and a half left in the game. David Afiani hit his first 3-pointer of the game in seven attempts to cut the lead to five points with 27 seconds left in the game. Another three-pointer by Afiani reduced the difference to four points. Igor Kulshov missed from the penalty line, Daishon Booker made it 86:90 from the penalty line and sealed the result of the game.