Maccabi Tel Aviv downed a feisty Hapoel Beersheba 71-64 in Winner League action as Scottie Wilbekin led a fourth-quarter charge to take the victory ahead of a busy Euroleague week in which the yellow-and-blue will head to Turkey to play Fenerbahce on Tuesday and then come home to face Anadolu EFES at Yad Eliyahu on Thursday.
The Southern Reds took the game to Maccabi early with fine play by Dererk Pardon and Junior Etou. Beersheba led by five points heading into the decisive final frame, however, Christoforos Livadiotis’s squad couldn’t hold on as Wilbekin had 10 points down the stretch to give Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s team to push it needed to record the victory.
“I congratulated the players as it’s not easy to play a game after a loss that we wanted to be a win,” Sfairopoulos said following the victory. “Defensively, we were excellent and our offense was a bit slow in the third quarter. When we hit the two or three big shots in a row in the fourth quarter, we ended up winning the game. I am happy with how the players reacted and they showed a different mentality. I want to thank the fans as they were with us when we were down and they helped us to the win.”
Oz Blayzer and Wilbekin each scored 16 points while Keenan Evans added 15 points and seven assists in the win. Pardon led the way for Beersheba with 17 points, Etou added 16 points and Cody Demps chipped in with 13 points in the loss.
“We needed this win and it may not have been the prettiest win, but this was a win we had to have,” said Blayzer after earning the game’s MVP honors. “This was a small step on our way to the top. I always want to win, fight for this club, the team and our amazing fans. I am proud to wear this uniform and to step onto the court with the goal to win.”
Oz Blayzer and Wilbekin each scored 16 points while Keenan Evans added 15 points and 7 assists in the win. Pardon led the way for Beersheba with 17 points, Etou added 16 points and Cody Demps chipped in with 13 points in the loss.
Meanwhile, Hapoel Holon overcame Hapoel Galil Elyon 80-68 as Maurizio Buscaglia’s squad chalked up an 18-1 run in the final frame to come back from a three-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to take the victory.
Holon was in control of the game from the outset, jumping all over Barak Peleg’s team with sharpshooting from game MVP Joe Ragland and Chris Johnson, but Galil chipped away at the advantage thanks to Omer Tal and Bryce Washington and took a 59-56 lead by the end of the third quarter.
However, Guy Pnini and Steven Gray started scoring at will from beyond the arc and Steve Zack played a huge role in the paint in the fourth period as Holon pulled away to take the win ahead of a Champions League clash against Darussafaka on Wednesday.
Johnson led the way with 17 points, Ragland added a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists, while Pnini scored 14 points in the win. Tal scored 13 points, Ike Iroegbu added 12 points and Washington chipped in with 10 points in the loss.
“After a couple of bad games, including at Darussafaka last week, this was a step up,” Holon coach Buscaglia said after the game. “We kept calm and came back twice while we played a great last quarter. Guy Pnini and Steve Zack were crucial for the team in the fourth quarter and Steven Gray was terrific with his three-point shots at the end.”
Down south, Maccabi Rishon Lezion nipped Hapoel Eilat 79-77 as newcomer Maurice Watson scored the game-winning basket for the wine city squad in a relegation battle by the Red Sea.
Eilat built up an eight-point lead at halftime on the strength of guard Bryon Allen, but Kris Clyburn began to light up the scoreboard to get Rishon back into the game.
With the clash all knotted up at 77-77, Watson put the ball high off the glass and into the basket with 4.4 seconds left to break the deadlock and take the win for Guy Goodes’s squad.
“This was a big game for us,” noted Watson. “We have been working hard every day and losing doesn’t show those results. But we have been resilient. I haven’t been here long, but I’m excited about our future as long as we stick together”
Up in the Galilee, Hapoel Haifa disposed of Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 80-71 in overtime as veteran point Gregory Vargas’s double-double helped lead Elad Hasin’s to the victory.
Haifa jumped all over the hosts with a quick 14-1 blitz to begin the game, but Gilboa’s London Perrantes and Sacha Killeya-Jones began chipping away at the advantage as the former scored a pair of free throws to send the contest into the extra session.
However, in the five-minute overtime period, it was all Haifa as Vargas spurred his team on to a 13-0 run and the win. Vargas scored 14 points and added 12 assists, Amit Simhon scored 14 points and Will Rayman chipped in with 12 points in the win. Killeya-Jones scored 22 points and Perrantes added 18 points in the defeat.
“I’m extremely proud of our fight and defense – even when they made their run we held our ground” Rayman explained following the game. “Gregory Vargas showed why he is one of the best guards in the league. I will keep doing whatever the team needs for us to continue to win.”