By Amy Samin

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Ironi Ashkelon in a dramatic 96 – 92 overtime victory in the final round of the regular Lotto League season. Lior Eliyahu was outstanding with 24 points, Guy Pnini scored 18, and Chuck Eidson contributed 14. Maccabi, who secured the number one spot in the league months ago, will face off against eighth-ranked Barak Netanya in a best of five playoff series that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on 26 April at Nokia Arena.

Eliyahu, Pnini, Eidson, Jeremy Pargo, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis started the game for Maccabi, while Ashkelon’s starters were Dror Hagag, Gur Porat, Erez Markovich, Corey Carr and Thomas Terrell. At the start of the game Maccabi struggled with defensive rebounding and Ashkelon took advantage, taking a 6 – 3 lead two minutes into the game. Sofo then scored five straight to give Maccabi their first lead of the game, which in turn inspired Pargo (assist Eliyahu) and Pnini (assist Eidson), who each delivered from downtown, making it 15 – 11, Maccabi. But Rodney Green and Carr quickly brought the hosts back up to speed, tying the score at 19 with two minutes left in the period. Richard Hendrix scored four straight for Maccabi (from the paint and from the charity stripe) to put Maccabi up, but as time ran out in the quarter Green re-tied the score at 23 – 23.

Maccabi opened the second quarter with a 9 – 2 scoring run by Eliyahu and Pnini, combined with strong defense, that made it 32 – 25 after two minutes. Ashkelon couldn’t seem to find the basket, and co-captain Tal Burstein scored five straight to put Maccabi up by ten, 37 – 27 with six minutes left in the half. The home team pulled it together and generated their own scoring run, cutting their deficit to only four with three minutes remaining. Maccabi looked to Eliyahu and Eidson, but Markovich scored four straight to make it a one point game, 47 – 46 with thirty seconds on the clock. Eliyahu scored off an assist from Hendrix, but Green scored as time ran out to keep Maccabi’s lead at a single point, 49 – 48, going into halftime.

Both teams looked disorganized at the start of the third quarter, but four straight points from Sofo made it 54 – 51 two and a half minutes into the period. Carr scored from outside the arc to tie the score, but points from Eidson at the foul line put the advantage in Maccabi’s hands at the halfway mark. With three and a half minutes left in the quarter, Ashkelon took a 60 – 58 lead. Pargo cruised coast-to-coast and Pnini (assist Eliyahu) added a bucket and one to put Maccabi up 65 – 62 with two minutes on the clock. Ashkelon refused to allow the visitors to open up a lead, tying the score 67 – 67 as time ran out on the third period.

Points by Eliyahu kicked off the fourth quarter, but he was answered and raised by Jonathan Gibson with a three-pointer that put the lead back in Ashkelon’s hands. Pnini quickly responded with a three of his own, but Gibson again found the basket from outside the arc and Green executed a drive to the basket that put the home team up 81 – 76 with six minutes left in the period. Eliyahu and Eidson combined for four points to make it 84 – 80. Eliyahu added four more points to tie the score at 84, with a minute and a half left in the game. Carr was slapped with a technical after yelling at the referees, and Pnini scored from the foul line to give Maccabi a one point lead, 85 – 84 with forty seconds on the clock. Carr tied the score 85 – 85 from the free throw line to send the game into overtime.

Eliyahu, who had an excellent night, and David Blu put Maccabi up 91 – 87 two minutes into the overtime period. Maccabi’s defense stepped up, and Eidson scored a key three-pointer to extend Maccabi’s lead to 94 – 89 with one minute left. Maccabi was able to keep the lead in their hands until time ran out, and the regular 2010 – 2011 Lotto League season ended in a 96 – 92 victory for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv over Ironi Eldan Ashkelon, and a 26 – 1 record overall.

Box Score:

Maccabi: Eliyahu 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; Pnini 18 points, 7 assists; Eidson 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists; Schortsanitis 10 points, 3 rebounds; Hendrix 8 points, 6 rebounds; Pargo 7 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists; Blu 7 points, 6 rebounds; Burstein 6 points, 4 steals; Mačvan 2 points.

After the game, Maccabi’s head coach David Blatt said, “Our defense just wasn’t there tonight, and we really had to sweat – a lot – to get this win. It’s a good thing there are games like this, where we have to overcome little crises within the game, because the same thing can happen in games against stronger teams. Our problem on offense was turnovers, and we can’t let it happen again, especially not in more important games. It’s a matter of being sharp, focused and professional. Defensively, we just didn’t perform, except in the fourth quarter.”

Lior Eliyahu, who led all scorers with 24 points, said, “A lot of things didn’t work; it wasn’t a good game for us. We were prepared for this game; you don’t always have to look for explanations for every little thing. We didn’t play aggressively, which is how we ended up in overtime. Also, Ashkelon deserves credit, they really made things tough for us,” the forward concluded. “You have to look at each game on its own merits. The game against Real Madrid [in the Euroleague Final Four] will be a completely different story. Maybe we’ll come into that game sharper. It’s a matter of being focused. We had a lot of turnovers in the last few games, and that could be connected to the fact that we’re playing without the point guard who led us throughout the season.”

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