In the final regular season game of the Israeli Winner Sal League, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Bazan Haifa 74-59 and finished in first place in the league. ?i?i? and Blu led Maccabi’s scorers with 14 points each.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv finished the regular season of the Israeli Winner Sal League in first place after defeating Maccabi Bazan Haifa 74-59 at Nokia Arena. Game MVP was Andrija ?i?i?, who scored 14 points. David Blu also scored 14 points (4 of 6 from three point range) and had 7 rebounds. Tyrese Rice contributed 14 points and 7 assists, and Sylven Landesberg scored 11 points. Maccabi will face Hapoel Gilboa Galil on Saturday night at Nokia in the quarterfinals.
Blatt’s starting five were Guy Pnini, Andrija ?i?i?, Devin Smith, Yogev Ohayon and Ricky Hickman. The start of the game was close, until Haifa went on a scoring run that put them up 9-4 after four minutes. Maccabi quickly got back in the game, taking a 10-9 lead with four minutes left in the period, thanks to two straight buckets by Sylven Landesberg and a dunk by Alex Tyus. Landesberg added a pair of three pointers to take Maccabi to an 18-15 lead as the first quarter ended.
Maccabi had a hard time getting their shots to fall early in the second quarter, and Haifa took advantage, jumping to a 19-18 lead after two minutes. The lead changed hands multiple times, and halfway through the period it was Haifa with a 24-22 advantage. Tyus fell hard and left the court for some treatment. ?i?i?, who came back into the game in his place, stepped up in a big way, scoring eight points that put the lead back in Maccabi’s hands, 34-26 as the half came to an end.
Tyus, who came back into the game after the break, added points from the charity stripe and an assist to David Blu that made it 40-32 after four minutes. Haifa showed signs of staging a comeback, but Blu responded with a pair of treys from the left corner, 47-35 Maccabi. ?i?i? continued to contribute, and along with Joe Ingles and Blu took Maccabi’s lead to double digits, 56-46 as the period ended.
Hickman and Pnini extended Maccabi’s lead to fourteen, 60-46, but Yavzuri responded from three point range to narrow the gap after three and a half minutes. A slick steal by Pnini resulted in points by Ingles (assist Tyus), Rice added a floater and Blu scored again from downtown to make it 67-53 just past the halfway mark. Rice added more points on three trips to the charity stripe and with a mid-range jumper, and in the end Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Bazan Haifa 74-59.
