By defeating Nahariya 102 – 85, Maccabi got payback for the loss that eliminated them from contention for the Israeli Cup. Maccabi had 6 players in double figures in this Week 14 game of Winner League Play. Pini Gershon: “Dror is one of the best players in Israel.”
By Amy Samin
Despite the absence from the court of injured players Yaniv Green and Omri Casspi, Maccabi succeeded in overwhelming Nahariya in a game that included a fantastic fourth quarter featuring a 24 – 4 scoring run in the early minutes of the period.
Dror Hagag was fabulous in the first half, Gaines and Eliyahu owned the second half.
Maccabi started the game with an atypical fivesome: Hagag, Carlos Arroyo, D’or Fischer, Charles Gaines and Tal Burstein.
Hosts Nahariya’s starting give included Ron Lewis, Philip Ricci, Jason Williams, Yogev Ohayon and Robert Rothbart.
Maccabi’s unusual back three scored quickly to give the visitors an early 10 – 2 lead with two and a half minutes gone in the first quarter.
From there, a double digit lead was a simple matter; with Hagag proving how right head coach Pini Gershon was to believe in him by scoring seven points in the early minutes of the game and taking Maccabi to an 18 – 8 lead with four minutes remaining in the period.
After a time-out Nahariya got back in the game and managed to close the gap slightly, but points by Hagag and Arroyo kept the lead firmly in Maccabi’s hands.
The quarter ended with Maccabi leading 24 – 17.
Nahariya didn’t give up, and succeeded in closing within four in the early minutes of the second quarter, but successful offensive play by Marcus Brown, Gaines and Hagag put the brakes on the hosts’ efforts and gave Maccabi a 33 – 25 lead three minutes into the second period.
But things took a bad turn for Maccabi and Nahariya took advantage, playing their way to a 35 all tie with four minutes remaining in the half.
The hosts played well and managed to stay close, but luckily Maccabi had the excellent Hagag (15 points in the first half) to maintain their lead almost single-handedly, and the half ended with the score 44 – 40, Maccabi.
The third quarter also started off well for Nahariya, who dominated on rebounds, closed the gap, and by four minutes into the second half had taken their first lead of the game, 53 – 52.
Only Gaines looked sharp for Maccabi during the following minutes, with the rest of the team giving lackluster performances.
A fast break and a three-pointer by Brown gave Maccabi back the lead, 57 – 55 with three minutes left in the quarter.
The two teams traded three-pointers to keep the game close, with the lead changing back and forth with every offensive play, until buckets by Brown and Eliyahu put the lead in Maccabi’s hands as the clock ran out on the third quarter, 64 – 60.
Maccabi opened strong in the final quarter, with a 7 – 2 scoring run to set the pace.
Brown and Eliyahu continued to dominate, and between them orchestrated the long-awaited breakaway for Maccabi; 74 – 65 after two minutes of play in the period.
A technical foul called on Nahariya head coach Yakov Gino didn’t serve the hosts well, and before they knew what had happened, Maccabi had soared to a 79 – 65 lead while taking advantage of the home team’s mistakes.
From then on, Maccabi played like a well-oiled machine, with Eliyahu in particular demonstrating his skill, and the game ended with a Maccabi victory, 102 – 85.
Box Scores
Maccabi: Gaines 17 points, 10 rebounds; Eliyahu 17 points; M. Brown 16 points; Hagag 15 points, 5 assists; Arroyo 12 points, 5 assists; Burstein 10 points; Sharp 7 points; Fischer 6 points; D. Brown 2 points.
Nahariya: Limonad 18 points; Lewis 17 points; Ricci 12 points; Williams and McGhee 11 points; Rothbart 10 points; Hanuki 4 points; Ohayon 2 points.
Maccabi head coach Pini Gershon said, “No team should beat Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv even once, and definitely not twice.
Nahariya is a good team whose players did the right things, but what made the difference was the presence of Charles Gaines, and not Elton Brown.”
About the performance of Dror Hagag during the game, Gershon said, “He did great work, not just with the points he scored but also on defense and with rebounds.
Dror is one of the best players in
He knew two days ago that he would be starting.”
Yakov Gino, head coach for Nahariya, spoke about his team’s collapse during the fourth quarter: “We played thirty great minutes, both defensively and offensively, but you have to give credit to Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.
I got my first technical this season, and that’s not a good sign.
Maccabi knew how to make the most out of that, and once you’ve made one mistake against them, you’re going to pay for it; Maccabi is a great team.”
“Maccabi is a better team than we are in every way,” Gino added.
“We’re going through a tough time, and some days I want to go and complain to someone, but there’s no one I can go to.
Our economic situation is bad, but everyone here is working day and night.”
