In the first game of the Israeli Winner Sal League quarterfinal series, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Gilboa Galil 99-93 at Nokia Arena. Pnini led Maccabi’s scorers with 19 points, Landesberg added 18 points, Rice scored 14 points and Ingles contributed 13 points.
By Amy Samin
Down by six early in the final quarter, Maccabi came blazing back thanks to an incredible run by Sylven Landesberg and taking a 1-0 lead in the quarterfinal series against Gilboa Galil, winning 99-93 at Nokia Arena. Guy Pnini led Maccabi’s scorers with 19 points. Landesberg finished with 18 points, Tyrese Rice scored 14 points, and Joe Ingles had 13 points and 9 rebounds.
Starters for Maccabi were Yogev Ohayon, Guy Pnini, Joe Ingles, Andrija ?i?i? and Ricky Hickman. The visitors took a quick 5-2 lead, but points by ?i?i? and a three pointer by Pnini put Maccabi on top 7-5 after two minutes. Ohayon and Hickman added points for Maccabi but the game stayed close; halfway through the period the score was tied at 16. The lead continued to change hands, with Pnini, Ingles and David Blu scoring for Maccabi but with two minutes left in the period Gilboa went on a scoring run that took them to a 32-26 lead as time ran out.
Gilboa managed to increase their lead to eight at the start of the second quarter, but Blu and Tyrese Rice narrowed the gap to 34-32. ?i?i? continued to play well, scoring four straight to tie the score at 36 after three and a half minutes. The visitors went on a 7-0 scoring run that gave them a 42-36 lead halfway through the period, to which Blu responded with 7 straight of his own, including a trey from the top of the arc to tie things up again. Points by Pnini and Ohayon put Maccabi back on top, but another run by the visitors switched things up again. A three pointer and a pair of free throws by Sylven Landesberg and a triple from the corner by Pnini ended the half with Maccabi leading 54-51.
Points by Hickman at the start of the third quarter extended Maccabi’s lead, but once again Gilboa went on a scoring run that put them back in the lead after two minutes, 58-56. Alex Tyus tied the score, but Gilboa continued to play well, going to 64-58 after four minutes of action. Pnini and Ingles cut the deficit to three halfway through the period, but though Rice scored twice and Pnini added another bucket, the quarter ended with Maccabi trailing 74-70.
As the fourth quarter got underway, it was Maccabi that enjoyed a scoring run thanks to Rice and Landesberg, taking a 77-76 lead after two and a half minutes. Gilboa still had plenty of fight left, and the score stayed close over the next few minutes. Landesberg went on a one-man 8 point scoring run that included 2 three pointers, taking Maccabi to an 85-80 lead with six minutes left on the clock. After a dunk by Tyus it was Ingles’ turn, scoring 7 straight to increase that lead to double figures, 94-82. From that point the rest was just a formality, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Gilboa Galil 99-93 in game one of the Israeli Winner Sal League quarterfinal series.
