By Amy Samin

In the 26^th round of Lotto League play, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv crushed Barak Netanya by more than thirty points, 92 – 60. Chuck Eidson had a fantastic night, scoring 20 points and making 7 assists. Milan Mačvan continued to show off his excellent abilities, with 16 points and 8 boards. Before the game, Guy Pnini received a framed basketball from club chairman Shimon Mizrahi for having reached 2,000 points in the Lotto League.

Jeremy Pargo, Richard Hendrix, Lior Eliyahu, Guy Pnini, and Chuck Eidson started the game for Maccabi, while Adrian Banks, Eran Asente, Shmulik Brener, Romeo Travis, and Elton Brown led off for Netanya. The first five minutes of the game were close, with the lead changing hands with every possession, until Eliyahu scored off the glass (and a nice dish from Eidson) to put Maccabi up for good, 8 – 7. The combination worked so well, the duo immediately repeated it to extend Maccabi’s lead, then Eidson went to work from the field, and Mačvan and Pargo from the foul line, to put Maccabi up 19 – 15 at the end of the first period.

David Blu opened the scoring in the second period with two points off an assist by Mačvan. Less than a minute later, Eidson nailed his first three-pointer of the game (assist Pargo) to make it 24 – 18, Maccabi. Eidson continued to impress, quickly tallying two more assists (to co-captain Tal Burstein for a layup, and to Hendrix for a hook shot), then stole the ball and cruised to a layup that gave Maccabi a double-digit lead, 30 – 20 three minutes into the quarter. Eliyahu scored twice in quick succession, first off an assist from Pargo, then following a steal by Hendrix and a dish by Eidson. Following a time-out Maccabi continued to control the game, with Pargo driving to the basket and Hendrix executing another steal and passing to Pnini, who dished to Blu for one of his classic catch-and-shoots from downtown to make it 39 – 24 with two minutes left in the period. About thirty seconds later, Blu nailed another three (assist Mačvan) from the same spot. Pargo scored in the lane, and two trips to the charity stripe meant four more points for Mačvan, and at the end of the period Maccabi had outscored Netanya 29 – 16, and led the game 48 – 31.

Netanya opened the third quarter with points by Eliran Gueta, but Eidson and Eliyahu saw and raised his two with four of their own. With their lead at nearly 20 points, Maccabi intensified their defense, using a full-court press and traps to rattle their opponents. About a minute later, Pargo drained a long two from 12 o’clock to make it 55 – 35. Travis scored for the visitors but Mačvan soon responded (assist Eidson). With both the young Serbian and Hendrix in the game, Maccabi’s big men went to work, with Hendrix scoring, then dishing to Mačvan for a three, followed by another bucket from Hendrix – a long two near the top of the key (assist Eidson) that put Maccabi up 65 – 41. Hendrix scored two from the foul line, as did Brener, and the period ended with the score 67 – 43.

Points by Eliyahu and Mačvan got things rolling in the fourth quarter, but were answered by two straight buckets from Banks, who had an uncharacteristically slow night. Three minutes into the period, in what has become a signature Maccabi play this season, a steal (Pargo) was followed by a slick pass (behind the back to Eliyahu) that led to a dish for the basket (Burstein): 73 – 47, Maccabi. A stop-and-pop by Eidson from the left side put a halt to a mini-run by Netanya at the halfway mark. Brener and company didn’t have much gas left in the tank, while Eidson and Burstein played like the game had just started, scoring 13 points between them (including back-to-back threes, one apiece) to give Maccabi a thirty point lead with less than two minutes remaining, 88 – 58. The game ended with baskets by Mačvan and Blu, which gave Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv a 92 – 60 victory over Barak Netanya.

Box Score:

Maccabi: Eidson 20 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Mačvan 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists; Eliyahu 15 points, 5 rebounds; Burstein 12 points, 3 assists; Pargo 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; Blu 10 points, 5 rebounds; Hendrix 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals.

Netanya: Brener 18 points; Banks 11 points; Washam 9 points; Travis and Brown 5 points each; Smith and Simhon 4 points each; Watson and Gueta 2 points each.

After the game, Maccabi head coach David Blatt remarked, “Tal [Burstein] played well from the start of the game, but he got into foul trouble too early. I think we played very well. I know that this game wasn’t all that important, and we didn’t need to play our best game, but to me it was one of our best games of the season, at both ends of the court. I really liked what I saw. The rebounding was excellent, and when the guys give of themselves, it’s just fun to watch.”

Chuck Eidson, who led all scorers with 20 points said, “When you lose players like Perkins and Sofo, everyone needs to step up and do things differently. We need to execute the things coach tells us to do, as Jeremy Pargo does, and not do anything too complicated.” Eidson then went on to wish the fans a Happy Passover, adding with a smile, “I hope everyone eats well.”

www.samintranslations.com