Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 87-73 in the Winner League Cup quarterfinal game at Nokia Arena. Smith led all scorers with 28 points and 7 rebounds.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv has qualified for the Winner Cup semifinals following their 87-73 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv. Devin Smith was simply unstoppable, scoring 28 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. Sylven Landesberg added 13 points and 7 rebounds, Yogev Ohayon contributed 12 points, and Joe Ingles and Sofo Schortsanitis added 9 points each. Shawn James and Yuval Naimy did not dress for the game. Maccabi will face Hapoel Eilat in the semifinal game on Wednesday at 20:45 at Beit Maccabi in Rishon Lezion.
Starters for Maccabi were Devin Smith, Jake Cohen, Tyrese Rice, Joe Ingles and Alex Tyus. Hapoel scored first in the game, taking a 4-0 lead before Maccabi got in the groove and took a 7-4 advantage thanks in part to points by Tyus and Cohen in the paint. Maccabi continued to play well, with points from downtown by Smith and a no-look alley oop from Rice to Ingles for the dunk. Sylven Landesberg scored twice to end the quarter with Maccabi leading 31-16.
Sofo Schorsanitis opened the second quarter with a pair of dunks, and Smith’s three from the left wing put Maccabi up by twenty, 38-18 three minutes into the period. Smith continued to score at will in the next minutes, and together with Cohen kept Maccabi’s lead more than comfortable; 48-24 with three minutes left in the half. Rice scored a banked-in triple as the shot clock wound down, and Yogev Ohayon added a three of his own to end the period with Maccabi leading 54-28.
Smith reached 20 points early in the third quarter, but Maccabi’s offense couldn’t keep up the pace of the previous periods and Hapoel was able to narrow the gap to 58-35. Cohen’s hook shot in the paint and a trey by Ingles in the left corner got Maccabi back on track, and Smith added a putback to reset Maccabi’s lead at 20, 68-48. But Hapoel wasn’t done yet, and had cut that lead to 68-51by the end of the period.
A slick reverse layup by Landesberg and points by Smith kicked off the fourth quarter, but Hapoel continued to narrow the gap, reaching 73-61 after three minutes of play. Points from outside the arc by Ohayon stopped the red run, 78-62 halfway through the final period. Smith continued to deliver at the crucial moments, leading Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv to an 87-73 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Winner League Cup quarterfinals.
BOXSCORE
Maccabi: Smith 28 points, 7 rebounds; Landesberg 13 points, 7 rebounds; Ohayon 12 points; Ingles and Schortsanitis 9 points each; Cohen 7 points; Tyus 6 points; Rice 3 points.
Top scorers for Hapoel Tel Aviv: Brown 21 points; Skjoldebrand 17 points.
