Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Eilat 100-96 in overtime on the road, taking the series 3 games to 1 and qualifying for the Israeli Winner Sal League finals. Sofo and Hickman were outstanding, with 22 and 21 points, respectively
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv has qualified for the final (home and away format) of the Israeli Winner Sal League after defeating Hapoel Eilat 100-96 and wrapping up the best of five semifinal series 3-1. Sofo Schortsanitis led Maccabi’s scorers with 22 points, Ricky Hickman contributed 21 points, Tyrese Rice added 16 points and 7 assists, Devin Smith had 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Sylven Landesberg scored 8 points and made 11 rebounds.
Starters for Maccabi were Sofo Schortsanitis, Ricky Hickman, Guy Pnini, Devin Smith and Sylven Landesberg. Eilat quickly took the lead, with only Sofo responding, 10-7 to the home team after three and a half minutes. Smith and David Blu scored from downtown, and Sofo and Tyrese Rice added some points, but Eilat was simply unstoppable, and the period ended with the hosts holding a 28-19 lead.
Eilat quickly extended their lead to double digits as the second quarter got underway and Maccabi had trouble finding a response. Points by Rice and Sofo helped a little, but Maccabi was still down by nine, 37-28, halfway through the period. Sylven Landesberg scored, and a string of free throws by Landesberg, Pnini, Hickman and Smith cut Maccabi’s deficit to six, 43-37 as the first half ended.
Smith and Sofo combined in the first minute of the third quarter to put Maccabi within two, 43-41, but Eilat scored to prevent the visitors from taking the lead. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, until a three pointer and one for Eilat pushed their lead up to 53-46. Maccabi dug in, with Blu, Rice, Hickman and Pnini scoring and making it a one point game, 56-55 with four minutes left in the period. Eilat stopped the run with a two pointer, but Blu drained a long three to tie the score. The hosts rebuilt their lead with an 8-2 run that ended the period with Eilat up 68-62.
Once again Maccabi was able to narrow the gap, 70-69 two minutes into the fourth quarter 70-69 thanks to points by Tyus, Sofo, and Smith. Eilat responded but Maccabi stayed close, and the score was 75-72 in the middle of the period. Sofo, and Hickman scored, putting Maccabi within three, and Landesberg tied things up at 80 to send the game into overtime.
The first half of the overtime was balanced, with Eilat taking an 86-84 lead with two and a half minutes on the clock. A triple by Hickman gave Maccabi their first lead since the first minutes of the game, though Eilat responded immediately. Six more points by Hickman and two by Smith made it 95-91 Maccabi with :33 remaining. Eilat continued to battle until the end, but points from the foul line wrapped up a 100-96 win for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv over Hapoel Eilat.
