Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Fifth-ranked I.Nahariya (15-11) was very close to win a game against first ranked M.Raanana (22-4) on Tuesday. M.Raanana managed to secure only two-point victory 71-69. However their fans expected much easier game. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of I.Nahariya. They outrebounded I.Nahariya 47-32 including a 33-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. Worth to mention a great performance of American Tyler Wideman (203-1995, college: Butler) who helped to win the game recording 8 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. The other American import center Michael Holyfield (211-1992, college: SHSU) contributed with 9 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Naturalized Slovakian power forward Tomer Levinson (208-2000, agency: Avi Zilberman) replied with 16 points for I.Nahariya. M.Raanana have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 22-4 record. I.Nahariya at the other side keeps the fifth place with 11 games lost.
Otef Darom‘s fans can finally celebrate the first win of their team after 25 consecutive losses. The victory is especially important as they defeated much higher ranked M.Rehovot (13-13) 80-66. Worth to mention a great performance of American swingman Vince Cole (198-1998, college: Coastal) who helped to win the game recording 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Yonatan Abouloff who added 12 points and 6 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side Tal-Or Peled (194-2002) responded with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Otef Darom maintains fourteenth position with 1-25 record. It was M.Rehovot‘s fourth loss in a row. They dropped to the eighth place with 13 games lost. They share the position with H.Safed Galil.
The game in Yavne was also quite interesting. 6th ranked E.Ashkelon (14-12) played at the court of eighth ranked E.Yavne (14-12). E.Yavne managed to secure a 7-point victory 97-90 on Tuesday. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of E.Ashkelon. The winners were led by Eli Abaev who had that evening a double-double by scoring 18 points, 18 rebounds and 7 assists. Even a double-double of 13 points and 11 assists by Daniel Najar did not help to save the game for E.Ashkelon. E.Ashkelon’s coach Yair Gewirtz rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. E.Yavne moved-up to sixth place, which they share with defeated E.Ashkelon.

Other games in round 28 were not that significant. H.Izrael was beaten by E.Shomron on the road 82-69. Ramat Hash. won against H.Kfar Saba on its own court 84-81. H.Kfar Qasem was outscored by M.Rishon in Rishon Le-Zion 98-65. H.Safed Galil was rolled over H.Eilat at home 75-95.
The most impressive performance of 28th round was 17 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists by Tomer Porat of H.Eilat.

E.Shomron – H.Izrael 82-69

There was a small surprise when thirteenth ranked E.Shomron (8-18) beat at home 10th ranked H.Izrael (11-15) 82-69 on Tuesday. E.Shomron outrebounded H.Izrael 44-33 including a 34-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. The winners were led by American guard Remy Abell (193-1992, college: Xavier, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) who scored that evening 22 points and 7 rebounds and forward Aviv Shimoni (198-1996) supported him with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Four E.Shomron players scored in double figures. Even 17 points and 6 rebounds by American forward Brandon Edwards (201-1991, college: UT Arlington) did not help to save the game for H.Izrael. Gal Shterenberg (206-1999) added 14 points and 9 rebounds for lost side. H.Izrael’s coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn’t help. E.Shomron moved-up to twelfth place, which they share with H.Kfar Saba. Newly promoted H.Izrael keeps the tenth position with 15 games lost.
Top scorers:
H.Izrael: B.Edwards 17+6reb+2ast, G.Shterenberg 14+9reb, I.Shabat 9+3reb+8ast, A.Menachem 9+7reb+2ast, K.Bracy-Davis 7+5reb+3ast, N.Arbel 7
E.Shomron: R.Abell 22+7reb+3ast, O.Cohen 16+8reb+1ast, A.Shimoni 15+13reb, A.Zabelin 10+7reb+2ast, N.Yaacobi 7+1reb+1ast, R.Behar 5+1reb

gschID: 1243402

E.Yavne – E.Ashkelon 97-90

The game in Yavne was also quite interesting. 6th ranked E.Ashkelon (14-12) played at the court of eighth ranked E.Yavne (14-12). E.Yavne managed to secure a 7-point victory 97-90 on Tuesday. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of E.Ashkelon. E.Yavne dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to E.Ashkelon‘s 32. They outrebounded E.Ashkelon 51-30 including a 36-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. E.Yavne looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The winners were led by naturalized American power forward Eli Abaev (203-1998, college: FGCU) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 18 points, 18 rebounds and 7 assists and American guard Brandon Tabb (193-1995, college: BCU) supported him with 33 points (!!!). Tabb is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Even a double-double of 13 points and 11 assists by guard Daniel Najar (193-2001) did not help to save the game for E.Ashkelon. American point guard Larry Thomas (188-1993, college: BSC) added 19 points and 4 assists for lost side. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. E.Ashkelon’s coach Yair Gewirtz rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. E.Yavne moved-up to sixth place, which they share with defeated E.Ashkelon.
Top scorers:
E.Ashkelon: L.Thomas 19+4reb+4ast, L.Berman 18+4reb+2ast, T.Cohen 15+5reb+1ast, C.Riley 14+7reb+5ast, D.Najar 13+4reb+11ast, A.Sanker 9+1reb+1ast
E.Yavne: B.Tabb 33+1reb+2ast, E.Abaev 18+18reb+7ast, O.Kholi 17+8reb+5ast, G.Gilinski 15+8reb+10ast, T.Gipson 12+11reb+1ast, O.Goldsztejn 2+2reb

gschID: 1243403

M.Raanana – I.Nahariya 71-69

gschID: 1243404

Ramat Hash. – H.Kfar Saba 84-81

Very expected game when 12th ranked H.Kfar Saba (8-18) was edged by fourth ranked Ramat Hash. (16-10) in Ramat Hasharon 84-81 on Tuesday. However just three-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Ramat Hash. looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The winners were led by point guard Rany Belaga (197-2006, agency: Avi Zilberman) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 18 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists and American forward Ira Lee (203-1998, college: Arizona) supported him with 23 points and 6 rebounds. Even 25 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists by American point guard Devon Thomas (183-1994, college: Texas Tech) did not help to save the game for H.Kfar Saba. Forward Omer Sade (200-2001) added 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Ramat Hash. maintains fourth position with 16-10 record. H.Kfar Saba lost fourth consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the twelfth place with 18 games lost. They share the position with E.Shomron.
Top scorers:
H.Kfar Saba: D.Thomas 25+5reb+8ast, O.Sade 18+6reb+4ast, B.Aken Matan 11+7reb+2ast, B.Uncha 10+3reb+4ast, J.Canty 6+8reb+1ast, S.Gorman 6+1ast
Ramat Hash.: I.Lee 23+6reb+1ast, R.Belaga 18+9reb+11ast, H.Halfon 18+4reb+3ast, A.Alon 13+4reb+3ast, A.Bier-Katz 6+4reb+1ast, R.Avneri 3+6reb

gschID: 1243405

M.Rishon – H.Kfar Qasem 98-65

Very predictable result when second ranked M.Rishon (19-7) rolled over 11th ranked H.Kfar Qasem (10-16) in Rishon Le-Zion 98-65 on Tuesday. M.Rishon looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. The winners were led by American forward DJ Burns (201-2001, college: YSU, agency: Players Group) who scored that evening 30 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists (on 13-of-16 shooting from the field) and the other American import guard Qua Grant (185-1999, college: SHSU) supported him with 7 points and 12 assists. Burns is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top summer league for players who want to play basketball overseas. Even 18 points by American guard Harrison Butler (196, college: SUU) did not help to save the game for H.Kfar Qasem. Naturalized American point guard Paul Delaney (188-1986, college: UAB) added 12 points and 5 rebounds for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. M.Rishon have an impressive eight-game winning streak. They maintain second position with 19-7 record having just three points less than leader M.Raanana. H.Kfar Qasem lost third consecutive game. They keep the eleventh place with 16 games lost.
Top scorers:
H.Kfar Qasem: H.Butler 18+3reb+2ast, P.Delaney 12+5reb+3ast, S.Harush 8+4reb+2ast, E.Bash 6+1ast, D.Ohana 5+1reb+1ast, M.Johnson 5+7reb+2ast
M.Rishon: D.Burns 30+9reb+4ast, O.Gol 12+1reb+2ast, J.Coblin 11, J.Freund 10+6reb, E.Hirsh 9+2reb+1ast, M.Romanov 7+3reb+3ast

gschID: 1243406

Otef Darom – M.Rehovot 80-66

Otef Darom‘s fans can finally celebrate the first win of their team after 25 consecutive losses. The victory is especially important as they defeated much higher ranked M.Rehovot (13-13) 80-66. Otef Darom outrebounded M.Rehovot 42-26 including 32 on the defensive glass. Worth to mention a great performance of American swingman Vince Cole (198-1998, college: Coastal) who helped to win the game recording 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and forward Yonatan Abouloff (195-2005) who added 12 points and 6 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side Tal-Or Peled (194-2002) responded with 17 points and 6 rebounds and American point guard Jay Threatt (180-1989, college: Delaware St.) scored 9 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Otef Darom maintains fourteenth position with 1-25 record. It was M.Rehovot‘s fourth loss in a row. They dropped to the eighth place with 13 games lost. They share the position with H.Safed Galil.
Top scorers:
M.Rehovot: T.Peled 17+6reb, D.Treadwell 11+6reb, J.Threatt 9+6reb+7ast, D.Gueta 8+4ast, I.Nesterenko 6+1reb+1ast, C.Rosenberg 6+1ast
Otef Darom: V.Cole 27+6reb+4ast, Y.Abouloff 12+6reb, O.Shelef 9+3reb, C.Cohen 9+4reb+2ast, K.Reid 7+7reb+1ast, Y.Sudmi 7+3reb+2ast

gschID: 1243407

H.Safed Galil – H.Eilat 75-95

Not a big story in a game when 9th ranked H.Safed Galil (13-13) was outscored at home by third ranked Hapoel Eilat (18-8) 95-75 on Tuesday. H.Eilat outrebounded H.Safed Galil 52-20 including a 22-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. H.Eilat looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. The winners were led by Tomer Porat (201-1999) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 17 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists and American center Brandon Huffman (208-1998, college: Jax State, agency: BIG) supported him with 17 points and 10 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). Four Hapoel Eilat players scored in double figures. Even 13 points and 5 rebounds by American guard Dachon Burke (193-1997, college: USA) did not help to save the game for H.Safed Galil. Zahi Itach added 10 points and 6 rebounds for lost side. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Hapoel Eilat have an impressive nine-game winning streak. H.Eilat maintains third position with 18-8 record having four points less than leader M.Raanana. Loser H.Safed Galil dropped to the eighth place with 13 games lost. They share the position with M.Rehovot.
Top scorers:
H.Safed Galil: D.Burke 13+5reb+3ast, D.Sharp 12+3reb+1ast, Z.Itach 10+6reb+1ast, Y.Bar 9, D.Koperberg 7+3reb+3ast, U.Lejtman 6+1reb+1ast
H.Eilat: I.Eisendorf 20+5reb+1ast, B.Huffman 17+10reb, T.Porat 17+14reb+5ast, A.Tilghman 16+3reb+5ast, G.Gutt 6+3reb+4ast, N.Akrish 5+6reb