Greens miss multiple late chances for upset as Weems, yellow-and-blue hang on by skin of teeth.
By ALLON SINAIMaccabi Tel Aviv guard Victor Rudd scored a team-high 21 points in last night’s 83-81 win over Maccabi Haifa at Romema Arena.(photo credit: ERAN LUF)
Maccabi Tel Aviv survived a mighty scare to get back to winning ways and maintain its hold on first place in the BSL on Sunday night, beating Maccabi Haifa 83-81 at Romema Arena to improve to 8-1.Maccabi had its five-game winning streak over all competitions snapped with a disappointing defeat to Efes Istanbul in Euroleague action on Thursday, and was pushed all the way by Haifa.After another under-par performance, Sonny Weems came up big in the closing minutes, with his jumper with 1:15 minutes to play proving to be the go-ahead basket which gave the yellowand- blue a two-point advantage.Haifa had chances to win the game, but Will Graves and Amit Simhon missed three-point attempts in the closing seconds and Tel Aviv survived.Victor Rudd led the winners with 21 points, while Tony Mitchell was superb for Haifa, which fell to 3-6, with 28 points and 15 rebounds.Elsewhere, Hapoel Gilboa/ Galil defeated Maccabi Kiryat Gat 90-86.On Monday, Hapoel Holon hopes to snap its recent skid with it visits Hapoel Tel Aviv.Holon got the season off to a surprisingly good start, winning five of six BSL games, including against Hapoel Jerusalem, while its only defeat came against Maccabi Tel Aviv.However, Dan Shamir’s side has lost its past two games, against Maccabi Rishon Lezion and Hapoel Eilat, and plays its next four contests on the road.Hapoel Tel Aviv also has a 5-3 record, winning three of its past four games.Elsewhere, Eilat (3-5) welcomes Maccabi Ashdod (3-5).
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