The women’s Premier League final series in handball kicked off tonight (Wednesday) with the first meeting in the series, and according to what we saw tonight, there is something to look forward to as well: Hapoel and Maccabi Rishon Lezion parted ways at the end of a dramatic game at 22:22, which guarantees a decisive third game In a series between the two groups from the city of wine.
Hapoel was the host in the game, and in the opening controlled the pace, and managed to go down to the half with an 8:10 advantage. The game continued to be close in the second half, when in the final minutes the battle between the teams reached its peak. Shir Gabza scored a pair of goals in favor of Maccabi, including the equalizer in the last half minute of the game, and at the end of the scoreboard he determined that the teams would be separated in a draw. Those who excelled in the game were the goalkeepers in both teams – Ravit Shoshan on the side of Hapoel, and Katrina Bandovich on the side of Maccabi. Shir Vakart was Hapoel’s leading scorer with 7 goals, and Katia Melnik added 5 and Monique Bensilon the great Brazilian 4. In the ranks of Maccabi Shir Gabza and Christina Playhank stood out with 5 goals each, Nitzan Donai added 4.
As mentioned, the second game in the final series will travel to Beit Maccabi on Tuesday, and the decision next Friday in Nahalat Yehuda – then it will be clear if the two will share the titles between them as last season, or Maccabi under Gilad Maor will end with a double.
Along with the women, the men’s Premier League is also entering the deciding stages, with tomorrow the last game of the regular season, when the champion, Maccabi Rishon LeZion, will meet Ramat Hasharon, which finished the season in first place, and guaranteed a home advantage throughout the playoff series. The quarterfinals tomorrow’s game will have no effect on the state of the table, so on Friday we expect two series: MK Holon will meet Hapoel Rishon LeZion, and the cup holder, Hapoel Ashdod, will face Kiryat Ono. On Sunday, two more series will be launched – between Ramat Hasharon and Bnei Herzliya, and between Maccabi Rishon LeZion and Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin.
At the same time, survival games will be launched in the lower house, which will determine who will be the second relegated player to join MK Beer Sheva, which has already been relegated to the national league. AK Ness Ziona will host Maccabi Dimona, when a victory will ensure Saar Frenkel’s team stays in the league, but if the game ends in a draw, Dimona will have a theoretical chance to beat Ness Ziona in the table because of the direct ratio between the two, with Dimona having two wins compared to Ness Ziona’s . In the second meeting, the Eilot region will host BS.