By Amy Samin

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated second-ranked Hapoel Gilboa Galil 79 – 68 in Gan Ner Arena, in a make-up game from week 23 of the Lotto League season. Chuck Eidson was game MVP with 19 points and 5 assists; Pargo added 15 points. Sofoklis Schortsanitis rejoined the lineup following a slight injury to his knee, scoring 7 points and pulling down 7 rebounds in 12 minutes of playing time.

Head coach David Blatt‘s starting five were Jeremy Pargo, Lior Eliyahu, Guy Pnini, Chuck Eidson, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis. They faced off against Gal Mekel, Warren Carter, Jack McClinton, Marco Killingsworth and Dagan Yavzuri. Maccabi jumped to an early lead, but were soon overtaken by Gilboa, who took an 8 – 7 lead off points by Ido Kozikaro after three and a half minutes. Maccabi’s offense had trouble finding the basket, while Mekel and Yavzuri extended the visitors’ lead to 15 – 8 with three minutes left in the period. Pnini came through with a three-pointer, then followed it with two more points off the glass to put Maccabi within two, 15 – 13 with two minutes left. A steal by Eidson, who passed to co-captain Tal Burstein for the layup and one, gave the advantage back to Maccabi, 18 – 17 with less than thirty seconds on the clock, but Gilboa scored from the charity stripe to retake the lead 19 – 18 as time ran out in the period.

Sofo scored off an assist from Eidson at the start of the second quarter, but was answered by Courtney Fells, who made it 21 – 20 Gilboa after three minutes of play in the period. Richard Hendrix came in for Sofo, pulling down three rebounds and scoring a bucket in less than one minute and putting Maccabi up 22 – 21 four minutes into the period. Pargo scored from downtown, and Eliyahu went on a rampage, racking up six straight points and 4 steals in three minutes. Eidson scored from the right corner (assist Pnini) and Pargo added a putback to make it 36 – 23 with less than a minute remaining; the two paired up again (points Eidson, assist Pargo) for two more points, but the half ended with an alley-oop to Fells on the inbounds for Gilboa that made it 38 – 27 going into the break.

Though each team only scored two points from the foul line in the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter, there was plenty of action, as Sofo made a dramatic save as the shot clock ran out, and Pargo was hurt after colliding with Carter. Yavzuri scored the first points from the field, but Eidson and Burstein responded to give Maccabi a 44 – 31 lead three and a half minutes into the period. The pace slowed down in the middle of the period, with indifferent shooting from the free throw line by both teams the only points scored, until Pnini scored a layup on the give-and-go to make it 48 – 39, Maccabi with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. Yavzuri and Fells scored consecutive three-pointers to put the visitors within three, 48 – 45, but five straight points by Eidson gave Maccabi some breathing room, 53 – 47 with less than two and a half minutes left in the period. Gilboa refused to give up, though, and at the end of three quarters Maccabi led by only 5 points, 59 – 54.

Killingsworth and Mekel combined for straight 4 points at the start of the final quarter, making it a one point game, 59 – 58. David Blu drained a catch-and-shoot from the top of the arc to give the home team some breathing room, 62 – 58. Jeremy Pargo shook off whatever pain he still felt from his third quarter injury and put on a dazzling show, scoring first from three point range (assist Eidson), then executing two masterful drives to the basket (and scoring the extra point when fouled on the second drive). JP wrapped up the package with a dramatic one-handed dunk that capped off another classic Maccabi play: steal by Eliyahu, who passed to Eidson, who dished to Pargo for the points. Meanwhile, Maccabi’s defense (led by Hendrix, who had three blocks on the night) kept Gilboa to only eight points for the first seven minutes of the period. Eidson’s three from the left side with two and a half minutes remaining made it 75 – 65, while Fells’ answering three wasn’t enough to help the visitors. Eliyahu and Eidson both scored in the paint to finish the game, giving Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv a 79 – 68 victory over Hapoel Altshuler Shacham Gilboa Galil.

Box Score:

Maccabi: Eidson 19 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds; Pargo 15 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds; Eliyahu 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals; Pnini 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; Schortsanitis 7 points, 7 rebounds; Burstein 6 points, 2 rebounds; Hendrix 3 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks; Blu 3 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists; Mačvan 3 points, 2 rebounds.

Maccabi’s head coach David Blatt said after the game, “Galil is an excellent team. We had an especially tough time in the third quarter, which is always their best part of the game. But we’re professionals, and we knew how to hang in there and get the win we deserved. One of the attributes of a good player is to know how to overcome those bad minutes and to step up the game when it really matters.”

When asked his thoughts about Chuck Eidson, who was game MVP with 19 points, Blatt said, “Chuck had an excellent game, and we know we can count on him. I know he’s been a bit upstaged by [Doron] Perkins and Pargo, but now we need him even more.” About the future, the coach stated, “We need to make sure we come into the Final Four healthy and in top shape, and to give the kind of game we’ve needed to play to get to this stage.”

After being named MVP, Eidson said, “We played better defense in the last quarter, and that’s what made the difference. Galil is a good team and they gave us a tough game.” When asked if he felt any pressure in terms of the upcoming weeks, Eidson responded, “Personally, I don’t feel any pressure. I’ve been in situations like this before, and I feel fine.”

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