Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of top-ranked M.Raanana (24-5) on the court of third ranked Hapoel Eilat on Friday night. Visitors were rolled over by Hapoel Eilat 91-64. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of M.Raanana. H.Eilat made 24-of-30 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game, while M.Raanana only scored five points from the stripe. They outrebounded M.Raanana 47-35 including 18 on the offensive glass. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when H.Eilat made 7 blocks. 29 personal fouls committed by M.Raanana helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Koren Zorno (176-1998) who helped to win the game recording 17 points and 7 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) and American center Brandon Huffman (208-1998, college: Jax State, agency: BIG) who added 10 points and 14 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side naturalized American point guard Alex Leder (180-1997, college: Gettysburg) responded with 13 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. H.Eilat maintains third position with 20-9 record having just two point less than leader M.Raanana. M.Raanana at the other side still keeps top place with five games lost. H.Eilat are looking forward to face league’s second-placed M.Rishon in Rishon Le-Zion in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. M.Raanana will play at home against Ramat Hash. and is hoping to win this game.
Important game to mention about took place in Ramat Hasharon. Fifth ranked I.Nahariya (16-13) saved a 1-point victory on the road edging one of their biggest challengers Ramat Hash. (18-11) 70-69 on Friday evening. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Ramat Hash.. The winners were led by Yanir Binyamin (188-2000, agency: BIG) who scored that evening 17 points and 6 assists and Tim Frazier supported him with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. I.Nahariya’s coach Offer Rahimi allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. Even a double-double of 17 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists by American forward Ira Lee (203-1998, college: Arizona) did not help to save the game for Ramat Hash.. I.Nahariya maintains fifth position with 16-13 record. Ramat Hash. at the other side keeps the fourth place with 11 games lost. I.Nahariya will play against E.Yavne (#6) in Yavne in the next round. Ramat Hash. will play on the road against the league’s leader M.Raanana and hopes to get back on the winning track.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 4: H.Izrael lost to E.Ashkelon on the opponent’s court 86-99. H.Kfar Saba managed to outperform H.Kfar Qasem in a home game 74-63. E.Yavne was rolled over M.Rishon on the road 102-77. Bottom-ranked Otef Darom was defeated by E.Shomron on its own court 75-83. M.Rehovot was beaten by H.Safed Galil in a road game 85-77.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 31 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 steals by Dachon Burke of H.Safed Galil.

E.Ashkelon – H.Izrael 99-86

Rather expected game when 10th ranked H.Izrael (13-17) was defeated on the road by seventh ranked E.Ashkelon (17-13) 99-86. E.Ashkelon players were unselfish on offense dishing 29 assists. The winners were led by guard Daniel Najar (193-2001) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 16 points, 7 rebounds and 14 assists and naturalized Hungarian swingman Amit Suss (201-1999) supported him with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Five E.Ashkelon players scored in double figures. Even 28 points and 5 rebounds by American Kevin Bracy-Davis (202-1995, college: Davis & Elkins, agency: Slash Sports) did not help to save the game for H.Izrael. His fellow American import forward Brandon Edwards (201-1991, college: UT Arlington) added 20 points and 12 rebounds for lost side. H.Izrael’s coach rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn’t help. E.Ashkelon maintains seventh position with 17-13 record. Newly promoted H.Izrael keeps the tenth place with 17 games lost. E.Ashkelon will play against H.Kfar Qasem (#11) on the road in the next round. H.Izrael will play against H.Safed Galil and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
E.Ashkelon: A.Suss 17+13reb+3ast, L.Berman 16+3reb+2ast, T.Cohen 16+4reb+2ast, D.Najar 16+7reb+14ast, C.Riley 14+7reb+2ast, L.Thomas 14+4reb+4ast
H.Izrael: K.Bracy-Davis 28+5reb+2ast, B.Edwards 20+12reb, N.Arbel 14+4reb+9ast, G.Shterenberg 7+10reb+3ast, M.Fuxman 5+3reb+1ast, O.Lavy 4+2reb

gschID: 1260421

H.Kfar Saba – H.Kfar Qasem 74-63

There was a small surprise when thirteenth ranked H.Kfar Saba (10-20) defeated at home 11th ranked H.Kfar Qasem (12-18) 74-63. The winners were led by American forward Jalen Canty (203-1995, college: UCSB, agency: Haylett Sports) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 24 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks and the other American import point guard Devon Thomas (183-1994, college: Texas Tech) supported him with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Even a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds by American center Marlon Johnson (208-1994, college: NMHU) did not help to save the game for H.Kfar Qasem. Naturalized American point guard Paul Delaney (188-1986, college: UAB) added 8 points and 13 rebounds for lost side. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. H.Kfar Saba moved-up to twelfth place, which they share with E.Shomron. H.Kfar Qasem at the other side keeps the eleventh position with 18 games lost. H.Kfar Saba will play against E.Shomron (#12) on the road in the next round. H.Kfar Qasem will play against E.Ashkelon and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
H.Kfar Saba: J.Canty 24+16reb+1ast, D.Thomas 16+12reb+6ast, O.Sade 12+5reb+3ast, B.Aken Matan 7+8reb+3ast, S.Gorman 6+3reb+2ast, B.Uncha 5+2reb+1ast
H.Kfar Qasem: M.Johnson 14+11reb+1ast, A.Sade 10+2reb+2ast, D.Ohana 9+1reb, H.Butler 9+7reb+2ast, P.Delaney 8+13reb+3ast, B.Ivri 8+4reb+1ast

gschID: 1260422

H.Eilat – M.Raanana 91-64

gschID: 1260423

M.Rishon – E.Yavne 102-77

Not a big story in a game in Rishon Le-Zion where 6th ranked E.Yavne (14-15) was rolled over by second ranked M.Rishon (21-8) 102-77. M.Rishon outrebounded E.Yavne 51-22 including a 35-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. M.Rishon players were unselfish on offense dishing 30 assists. They brought some defensive toughness making 8 blocks. The winners were led by American forward DJ Burns (201-2001, college: YSU, agency: Players Group) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 36 points (!!!), 13 rebounds and 4 blocks and naturalized American forward Josh Freund (204-1997, college: Roanoke) supported him with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Burns is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four M.Rishon players scored in double figures. Even 30 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists by naturalized American power forward Eli Abaev (203-1998, college: FGCU) did not help to save the game for E.Yavne. Naturalized Polish guard Gal Gilinski (195-1995, agency: Avi Zilberman) added 1 points, 5 rebounds and 16 assists for lost side. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. M.Rishon maintains second position with 21-8 record having just three point less than leader M.Raanana. E.Yavne lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the sixth place with 15 games lost. M.Rishon will play against H.Eilat (#3) at home in the next round, which may be the game of the day. E.Yavne will play against I.Nahariya and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
M.Rishon: D.Burns 36+13reb+1ast, J.Freund 23+13reb+5ast, Q.Grant 15+5reb+5ast, A.Reuven 13+2reb+3ast, J.Coblin 7+1reb+7ast, M.Romanov 4+4reb+6ast
E.Yavne: E.Abaev 30+5reb+6ast, B.Tabb 19+1reb, O.Goldsztejn 9+6reb, O.Kholi 6+2reb+2ast, N.Rosenberg 4, O.Porer 3+3ast

gschID: 1260424

Ramat Hash. – I.Nahariya 69-70

Important game to mention about took place in Ramat Hasharon. Fifth ranked I.Nahariya (16-13) saved a 1-point victory on the road edging one of their biggest challengers Ramat Hash. (18-11) 70-69 on Friday evening. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Ramat Hash.. The winners were led by Yanir Binyamin (188-2000, agency: BIG) who scored that evening 17 points and 6 assists and American point guard Tim Frazier (185-1990, college: Penn State) supported him with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Five I.Nahariya players scored in double figures. I.Nahariya’s coach Offer Rahimi allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. Even a double-double of 17 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists by American forward Ira Lee (203-1998, college: Arizona) did not help to save the game for Ramat Hash.. Hen Halfon (196-1996) added 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for lost side. I.Nahariya maintains fifth position with 16-13 record. Ramat Hash. at the other side keeps the fourth place with 11 games lost. I.Nahariya will play against E.Yavne (#6) in Yavne in the next round. Ramat Hash. will play on the road against the league’s leader M.Raanana and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
I.Nahariya: Y.Binyamin 17+4reb+6ast, T.Levinson 15+4reb+2ast, T.Frazier 14+6reb+5ast, E.Griffin 10+8reb+2ast, R.Turell 10+7reb+1ast, A.Chubrevich 4+4reb
Ramat Hash.: I.Lee 17+15reb+5ast, H.Halfon 13+10reb+4ast, A.Alon 12+2reb+6ast, A.Bier-Katz 8+4reb+3ast, D.Reuven 6+3reb, R.Belaga 6+4reb+4ast

gschID: 1260425

Otef Darom – E.Shomron 75-83

Everything went according to plan when twelfth ranked E.Shomron (10-20) beat on the road bottom-ranked Otef Darom (2-28) 83-75. E.Shomron made 19-of-21 charity shots (90.5 percent) during the game. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. Otef Darom was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. The winners were led by American Isaiah Crawley (201-1998, college: Georgia South) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 15 points and 17 rebounds and the other American import guard Remy Abell (193-1992, college: Xavier, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) supported him with 14 points. Five E.Shomron players scored in double figures. Even 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals by American swingman Vince Cole (198-1998, college: Coastal) did not help to save the game for Otef Darom. Jamaican-American center Kareem Reid (204-2000, college: Gardner-Webb) added 16 points and 5 rebounds for lost side. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. E.Shomron maintains twelfth position with 10-20 record, which they share with H.Kfar Saba. Otef Darom at the other side stay dead last with 28 lost games. E.Shomron will play against H.Kfar Saba (#13) at home in the next round. Otef Darom will play against M.Rehovot and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
E.Shomron: I.Crawley 15+17reb+3ast, R.Abell 14+2reb+2ast, A.Shimoni 13+3reb+1ast, O.Cohen 11+1reb+2ast, R.Behar 10+6reb, N.Yaacobi 5+3ast
Otef Darom: V.Cole 26+9reb+5ast, K.Reid 16+5reb+1ast, Y.Abouloff 9+3reb, A.Sela 9+5reb+5ast, T.Tapir 7+2reb+3ast, C.Cohen 3+1ast

gschID: 1260426

H.Safed Galil – M.Rehovot 85-77

We cannot really consider it an upset in the game between close teams when 8th ranked M.Rehovot (15-15) was defeated on the road by ninth ranked H.Safed Galil (15-15) 85-77. The winners were led by American guard Dachon Burke (193-1997, college: USA) who scored that evening 31 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 steals and American-Bahamas forward Jonathan Augustin-Fairell (201-1993, college: Murray St.) supported him with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Even 14 points by point guard Daniel Gueta (188-2003) did not help to save the game for M.Rehovot. American forward Demetrius Treadwell (201-1991, college: Akron) added 7 points and 8 rebounds for lost side. M.Rehovot’s coach Kobi Hasson rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. H.Safed Galil moved-up to eighth place, which they share with defeated M.Rehovot. H.Safed Galil will play against H.Izrael (#10) in Nazareth in the next round. M.Rehovot will play against Otef Darom and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
H.Safed Galil: D.Burke 31+7reb+7ast, J.Augustin-Fairell 23+8reb+2ast, D.Sharp 10+1reb+1ast, O.El-Al 7+2reb+3ast, D.Koperberg 7+12reb+2ast, G.Doron 5+3reb+3ast
M.Rehovot: D.Gueta 14+3reb+1ast, S.David 12+2reb+1ast, T.Peled 11+4reb, D.Drapic 8+4reb+2ast, D.Treadwell 7+8reb+3ast, I.Romy 7+2reb+1ast