The reigning Israeli champions secured their spot in the Final 4 after fighting their way to a 93:92 victory in the Negev capital. Caloiaro led the scorers with 18 points. Sunday: Hosting Hapoel Eilat or Hapoel Haifa
5 Yellow & Blue players concluded the night with double-digit points as Caloiaro led Maccabi scorers with 18 points, adding 3 assists and 3 steals. Ante Zizic finished another successful night under the rims, scoring 16 points while grabbing 5 rebounds. Scottie Wilbekin contributed 15 points as T.J Cline and Oz Blayzer (9 rebounds) each added 10 points.
Game Recap:
Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Oz Blayzer, Angelo Caloiaro, and Ante Zizic started for the Yellow & Blue, while Amir Bell, Spencer Weisz, Travis Warech, Amit Suss, and Eric Thompson opened for the hosts.
Wilbekin scored Maccabi’s first 5 points of the night while Bell responded with 4 for the Reds. A Zizic steal on the defensive end led to a Blayzer slam which initiated a 9:0 run as Caloiaro and Zizic converted shots from the free-throw line giving the visitors a double-digit advantage, 14:4.
After Bell stopped the stretch, Caloiaro drove to the bucket and slammed it down with the left hand, and T.J Cline came off the bench and completed a three-point possession, 19:8. Weisz and Netta Segal hit back-to-back triples to reduce the lead, but Wilbekin had the final say in the quarter after drilling a fadeaway mid-range jumper, closing out the first 10 minutes of the game with a 21:14 advantage.
The Reds grabbed the momentum early in the second quarter as Thompson 4 points inside and Warech’s five led a 9:2 stretch tying the game at 23. Weisz gave the hosts the edge after drilling a three-point shot, but Chris Jones beat the 24-second shot clock with a mid-range jumper to reclaim the lead, and Zizic scored 7 straight points as 5 of them came in one possession after an unsportsmanlike foul didn’t stop the Croatian big man from sinking two, 34:28.
Once again, Jones drained a three-pointer just before the 24-second buzzer, but Beer Sheva received second chances after attacking the offensive boards as Bell and Thompson tied the game at 37. Wilbekin reached double-digit points after knocking down a shot from deep and dished an assist to Zoosman, who finished a fastbreak with a right-handed slam, 42:37 at halftime.
Bell and Caloiaro exchanged buckets as Wilbekin followed with a basket and an assist to Zoosman, 49:41. Caloiaro’s five consecutive points, including a fastbreak dunk, ramped the margin back to double digits. Bell converted a three-point possession after Zizic fouled him, and Warech drained a shot from behind the arc, reducing the edge down to 6, 56:50.
Weisz connected in all three free throws, and Nick Hornsby scored 4 straight points, but on the other end, Zoosman laid in two, and Blayzer drained back-to-back triples from the same tile giving Maccabi a 9 point margin going into the final 10 minutes, 71:62.
Suss opened the quarter with 5 straight points reducing the score down to 4, yet Casspi worked his defenders in the post and dished three assists to Cline, who responded with three easy buckets for 7 consecutive points, 78:71. Weisz brought the Reds a possession away after knocking down a three-pointer, but John DiBartolomeo found a lane to lay in two and dished an assist to Caloiaro, who later scored two from the charity strike after an unsportsmanlike foul by Suss, 83:77.
Bell drained a shot from behind the arc that made Sfairopoulos call a timeout in which Maccabi came out well as a Caloiaro steal led to a Zizic layup that kept the lead at 6, 91:85. Rami Hadar’s group didn’t say their final words as Hornsby scored off of second-chance points after back-to-back offensive board, shrinking the margin down to 2 with 11 seconds left.
DiBartolomeo was sent to the free-throw line and hit both twice, gaining a 4 point edge. Segal drained a triple from outside in the final second, but that was too late. Maccabi sweeps the series and advances to the Israeli Winner League Semifinals after a hard-fought 93:92 victory over Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
