The Yellow & Blue advance to the Round of 16 in the State Cup after the road victory. Blayzer stood out with 17 points, Dorsey contributed 16 points, and Zizic added 13. Thursday: Zalgiris Kaunas comes into Menora Mivtachim Arena
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv surpassed past Maccabi Ashdod 75:69 as part of the First Round of the State Cup, proceeding to the Round of 16. Oz Blayzer played well throughout the game leading the Yellow & Blue scorers with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. Tyler Dorsey totaled 16 points, and Ante Zizic dominated inside the paint, recording a double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds).
Chris Jones, Tyler Dorsey, Sandy Cohen, Oz Blayzer, and Ante Zizic started for the Yellow & Blue side. After two scoreless minutes, Blayzer and Dorsey scored 7 points each, totaling Maccabi’s first 14 points, while Dolev Drapic tallied 5 points on the other end, 12:11.
Maccabi added to their 8:0 run as Yonatan Atias sank two from the free-throw line, and Sandy Cohen recovered an offensive board and tipped it in, 18:11. The hosts responded with eight unanswered points, but Dorsey scored two from the charity strike, finishing the first ten minutes with a 20:19 advantage.
Zizic grabbed his own miss and converted a three-point play as then added a hook shot. On the other end, Durand Scott answered from the top of the key, and Sagiv David finished a fastbreak with a slam, 31:26. The Yellow & Blue stopped the Dolphins scoreless in the last two minutes of the half as Blayzer hit eight consecutive points, opening a 9 point margin at halftime, 41:32.
Arthur Rosenfeld and Raviv Pitshon led the hosts to a 10:4 to open up the third quarter, diminishing the lead down to three, 45:42. Max Heidegger and Elijah Bryant scored four points, respectively, which made Offer Rahimi call a timeout, 55:49.
The hosts came out strong out of the timeout, as Drapic and Scott tied the game at 55, but Jones, on the end of the shot clock, drilled a tough fadeaway jumper closing out the third quarter with a 2 point edge, 57:55.
The Yellow & Blue worked Zizic inside, while on the defensive end, he blocked a shot, which led to a Bryant fastbreak three-point play, 62:55. Scott knocked down a triple, but Dorsey responded with a three of his own, and Jones drove to the basket and laid it in with the left hand opening a double-digit margin, 69:58.
Scott and Rosenfeld attempted a late surge lowering Maccabi’s advantage down to four, but Dorsey, with a crucial steal who laid it in and Blayzer, who drilled a shot at the end of the shot clock, sealing the game. Maccabi advance to the Round of 16 in the State Cup after a 75:69 win over Maccabi Ashdod.
