By Amy Samin

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s dominated the first quarter 27 – 7, setting the stage for their 80 – 70 victory over Hapoel Holon Sunday night at Nokia Arena. Lior Eliyahu had an outstanding night with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Keith Langford contributed 18 points, and Guy Pnini added 15. Shawn James earned impressive stats with 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

Shawn James, Keith Langford, Guy Pnini, Lior Eliyahu and Yogev Ohayon started the game for Maccabi in fine fashion with a 15 – 0 run that included points from four of the five on dunks, layups, and fastbreaks as well as a steal by Pnini, a block by James and ironclad defense. The visitors got their first points of the game off a free throw by Bryant Dunston with four and a half minutes left on the clock. Sofo Schortsanitis and David Blu joined in the celebration, while two buckets (one off an excellent assist from Theo Papaloukas) and a free throw by Eliyahu ended the period with Maccabi leading 27 – 7.

Sofo kicked off the second quarter with a dunk and 1 which was followed by points for Holon by Ron Lewis. A stop and pop by Papaloukas put Maccabi’s lead back at twenty, and Blu added a bucket to make it 36 – 14 four minutes into the period. Lewis and Dunston combined for seven straight points that put the visitors within fifteen, 36 – 21 with four minutes left in the half. Eliyahu scored and Pnini drained a three on the left side (assist Blu) to rebuild the twenty point margin, 41 – 21 with three minutes remaining. Patrick Sullivan’s four straight points ended the half with the score 41 – 25.

Maccabi took charge at the start of the third quarter, as James added points (assist Pnini), a block and a rebound in the first minute. Langford added a stop and pop and Pnini scored from downtown (assist Langford) to make it 48 – 25 a minute and a half into the period. Dunston cut Maccabi’s run short and Tasmin Mitchell added a bucket to make it 48 – 29. Langford’s three from the top of the arc was followed by another rejection by James and a steal by Ohayon, but Shlomi Harush scored for the visitors, keeping the gap at twenty. Langford scored another trey and added a baseline jumper on the right side, and a three by Pnini (assist Eliyahu) and a deuce by Blu (assist Papaloukas) on the inbounds play ended the period with Maccabi leading 63 – 38.

Most teams coming into the fourth quarter with a twenty-five point deficit would not have shown the energy and determination Holon displayed in the final ten minutes of the game. Sullivan and Moran Roth combined for seven points to start the period, and Dunston, Harush and Mitchell joined the effort to make it 65 – 54 after four minutes. A drive in the lane by Ohayon put a stop to the run, and Blu soon added a three from the left corner (assist James) to make it 70 – 56 with just over four minutes remaining. Roth added five straight to cut Holon’s deficit to a single digit, 70 – 61 with three minutes remaining. In the end, Maccabi protected their lead and time ran out for the visitors, as Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Holon 80 – 70.

BOXSCORE

Maccabi: Eliyahu 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals; Langford 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists; Pnini 15 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Blu 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist; James 8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks, 1 assist; Schortsanitis 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block; Ohayon 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal; Papaloukas 2 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound.

Top scorers for Holon: Dunston 15 points; Mitchell 13 points.

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