Hapoel TA continues winning form under coach Hadar

Holon enters the game from second place with a 9-4 record and can climb to first with a win.

By ALLON SINAI
Hapoel Holon guard Khalif Wyatt scored a game-high 31 points in last night’s 92-84 overtime win at Hapoel Tel Aviv. (photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
Hapoel Holon guard Khalif Wyatt scored a game-high 31 points in last night’s 92-84 overtime win at Hapoel Tel Aviv.
(photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
Rami Hadar registered a second straight win since joining Hapoel Tel Aviv on Sunday, claiming a 90-84 victory over Hapoel Eilat at the Drive-In Arena.
After edging Maccabi Rishon Lezion last week in Hadar’s debut, Hapoel surged ahead on Sunday, leading by as many as 28 points in the third quarter. It allowed Eilat, which was coming off a win against Maccabi Tel Aviv, to close within four points with two minutes to play, but ultimately held on for the win, improving to 8-6.
Eilat fell to 6-8.
Elsewhere Sunday, Bnei Herzliya welcomed back Karam Mashour and returned to winning ways, beating Maccabi Rishon Lezion 71-69.
Herzliya had lost both its games without Mashour, who picked up an ankle injury in the BSL win over Hapoel Jerusalem. Mashour didn’t need long to regain his top form, leading five players in double figures on Sunday with 15 points.
Herzliya led for much of the first half, but took just a five-point edge (42-37) into the break. There was nothing to separate the teams (53-53) entering the final 10 minutes and Herzliya looked to be in trouble when Rishon opened an eight-point gap (63- 55). But the hosts responded with a 13-0 run, which included six points by Mashour, to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish to improve to 9-5.
Charles Thomas scored 15 points for Rishon, which fell to 7-7 and will have to manage without star guard Shawn Dowson for another month due to his knee injury.
On Monday, Maccabi Tel Aviv aims to bounce back from the defeats to Hapoel Eilat and Real Madrid when it visits Hapoel Holon, while Maccabi Haifa hosts rock-bottom Maccabi Kiryat Gat.
Tel Aviv showed some encouraging signs against Real, but fell to a seventh defeat from its past eight Euroleague contests and will also be aiming to make up for the dejecting setback against Eilat last week, which saw it drop to 10-3 in the BSL.
“We are facing one of the better teams in the league at the moment,” said Maccabi coach Ainars Bagatskis. “We have to stop their transition game and their three-point shooting.”
Holon enters the game from second place with a 9-4 record and can climb to first with a win.
“This is an opportunity for us to test ourselves against a very strong and talented team,” said Holon coach Dan Shamir. “I hope we will be at our best.”