Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Fattal Eilat 80-73 to claim the 41st Israeli Cup in the club’s history, and their fifth in a row. Blu (22 points) was named game MVP, Ohayon added 15 points.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv has won their fifth straight Israeli Cup, and the 41st in the club’s history, following an 80-73 victory over Hapoel Fattal Eilat at Nokia Arena. David Blu with 22 points was named the game’s MVP. Yogev Ohayon contributed 15 points, Sylven Landesberg added 11 points, and Devin Smith had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Maccabi’s starters were Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, team captain Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon and Sofo Schortsanitis. The game got off to a slow start, with neither team scoring in the first two minutes. Once the teams woke up, Maccabi claimed an 8-6 lead off points by Hickman and Ohayon, but Gates and Eilat went on an 8-0 scoring run that put them up 14-8 halfway through the period. David Blu responded for Maccabi with seven straight points (two assists from Tyrese Rice and a putback) and Sylven Landesberg added the final points in the period, which ended with Maccabi leading 21-16.
At the start of the second quarter, Blu and Landesberg picked up where they had left off, with a trey from the former and two deuces by the latter, making it 28-16 after two and a half minutes. Maccabi’s defense, led by Sofo, kept a tight reign on Eilat, while Landesberg and Blu (from downtown, assist Sofo) extended Maccabi’s lead. Smith added a three pointer of his own, and Landesberg and Joe Ingles also scored to take Maccabi into halftime with a 43-30 lead.
It didn’t take long for Eilat to cut the lead to ten as the third quarter got underway, but Smith, Ohayon and Hickman reopened the lead to 50-33 after a minute and a half of action. Seven straight points for Eilat once again made it a ten point game, and the period ended with Maccabi’s lead still at ten, 58-48.
Eilat fought to close the gap but Blu added points from the foul line, downtown and two point range to hold them at bay. Eilat and Gates finally managed to pull within five, 65-60 close to halfway through the period. Smith and Ohayon combined to give Maccabi some breathing room, with the lead hovering around ten for the next few minutes. Eilat came within six with 14 seconds on the clock thanks to points by Nissim and Naimy, but in the end Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Eilat 80-73 and claimed the Israeli Cup for 2014.
