After a 105 – 75 win over Ironi Eldan Ashkelon, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv advanced to the semi-final in the Israel cup competition. Six players finished in double figures. Cross-town rival Hapoel Tel Aviv also advanced to the next round. (Photos: Or Troyner).
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv advanced to the semi-final of the Israel Cup (to take place on 7 February) by defeating Ironi Eldan Ashkelon 105 – 75 in Nokia Arena.
No fewer than six Maccabi players finished in double figures, in an excellent display of both offense and defense.
Also advancing to the final four is cross-town rival Hapoel Tel Aviv of the National League, who defeated the Super League’s Maccabi Haifa in overtime.
They are joined by Maccabi Ashdod, who defeated Gilboa/Galil, and Barak Netanya who shut down Hapoel Jerusalem at Malha Arena.
The lottery for the two semi-final games will take on Tuesday.
With Jeremy Pargo feeling under the weather, Maccabi head coach David Blatt gave the nod to Chuck Eidson, along with Doron Perkins, Lior Eliyahu, Guy Pnini and Sofoklis Schortsanitis.
Facing them were Dror Hagag, Gur Porat, Desmon Farmer, Thomas Terrell and Rashon Turner.
The opening minutes of the game were close, with Ashkelon relying solely on Turner.
A three from Eidson in the right corner tied the score at 7 after two and a half minutes.
The visitors continued to stay close, until a putback by Eliyahu and points from the foul line by Richard Hendrix gave Maccabi a four point lead, their biggest to that point, 13 – 9 after three and a half minutes.
Farmer took his turn as the main man for Ashkelon, bringing his team within one, 17 – 16.
Points by John Jakes reclaimed the lead for the visitors, but Milan Mačvan hit two free throws and a mid-range fade-away jumper and one to put Maccabi up 24 – 18.
Hendrix, who finished the game with a double-double, slammed in a dunk and another bucket off the glass to put Maccabi up by ten at the end of the period, 28 – 18.
The second period got underway with points by David Blu and Sofo.
A save by Hendrix opened the door for one of Perk’s patented acrobatic layups plus free throw to extend Maccabi’s lead to thirteen, 35 – 22 after two minutes.
Ashkelon scored twice to cut the deficit to a single digit, 35 – 26, but Blu (who will compete in the All-stars’ three-point shootout on Tuesday) drained two straight catch and shoots (the second after a slick fake turned assist by Eidson) from downtown to make it 41 – 26, three and a half minutes into the period.
Eidson sent out another dish, to Eliyahu this time, then Hendrix helped himself to the ball and jammed in a one handed dunk to put Maccabi up 45 – 28.
A minute and a half later Hendrix scored another dunk (assist Eliyahu), giving Maccabi a twenty-one point lead, 51 – 30.
Eliyahu then scored four times in a row for Maccabi (with assists from Hendrix and Eidson) and Hendrix (who had an excellent defensive game in addition to his double-double) rejected a basket by Porat.
Maccabi’s defense held Ashkelon firmly in check, forcing turnovers and a shot clock violation.
The half ended with Maccabi leading 61 – 35.
The second half opened with another dunk by Hendrix and points from Perkins (assist Eidson) but Ashkelon had their offense back in gear, closing the gap to 65 – 42.
Maccabi continued to work the ball, and reopened their lead; a long two from Eidson made it 71 – 44 at the halfway point in the quarter.
Chuck soon followed that with a three from the right wing and a steal + coast-to-coast for the dunk; 79 – 46, Maccabi.
Points by Mačvan put Maccabi’s lead over thirty, 81 – 50, with two minutes left in the quarter.
Co-captain Tal Burstein drained a shot from outside the arc and Blu scored in the paint off a great pass from Pargo.
At the end of three periods, with the home team keeping Ashkelon to under twenty points in every quarter, the score was 86 – 54, Maccabi.
Farmer, John Jakes, and company continued to battle in the fourth quarter, but points by Pnini and Blu kept Maccabi’s advantage over thirty.
With six and a half minutes left, team captain Derrick Sharp came into the game, to the delight of the crowd.
Pargo, who looked like he was feeling much better, drained a three from the top of the arc to make it 98 – 69 with four minutes remaining.
Ashkelon refused to give up, but the eight points they managed in the final minutes couldn’t overcome the deficit.
With seconds on the clock, Sharp provided the fans with another unforgettable moment, with a steal plus assist to Eliyahu for the dunk at the buzzer.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s 105 – 75 victory over Ironi Eldan Ashkelon puts them in the Israel Cup semi-final.
Box Scores:
Maccabi: Lior Eliyahu 19 points; Chuck Eidson 16 points, 9 assists; David Blu 15 points; Richard Hendrix 14 points, 11 rebounds; Milan Mačvan and Doron Perkins 11 points each; Tal Burstein 8 points; Sofoklis Schortsanitis 6 points; Jeremy Pargo 3 points; Guy Pnini 2 points.
Ashkelon: Thomas Terrell and Rashon Turner 16 points each; Desmon Farmer 15 points; John Jakes and Ekene Ibekwe 7 points each; Gur Porat and Dror Hagag 4 points each; Ahiad Bukra and Tamir Simchony 2 points each.
Maccabi’s head coach David Blatt said after the game, “We came to this game knowing that our entire purpose was to reach the Cup semi-final.
I don’t think Ashkelon is built for three games in a week, and we took advantage of that, applying pressure from the beginning.
I think we’re playing well, including Sofo who tonight got into foul trouble and has a slight injury.
We wanted him to play more, but as soon as he got into foul trouble I decided to keep him out of the rest of the game.”
Blatt added, “The rotation of big men has always been good, each player is finding his place, and no one is suffering from playing too much or not enough.
I’m pleased to see how well the big men are playing together; it’s art.
Congratulations to Hapoel (Tel Aviv) on their win and making the semi-finals.
We’ll wait for the lottery and welcome whichever opponent we’ll face.
We also really want that Cup.”
Lior Eliyahu said, “We’re playing inside, using our advantages, and doing it very well.
We’ve made it through this stage and are looking ahead.
It wasn’t easy; in the first quarter they really held us in check, and made a big push in the second quarter.
We’ll see if we can play the same way in Europe; the size of the front lines in Europe is different.
As far as Hapoel (Tel Aviv), we’ll be ready for whichever opponent we’ll face.”
