Mac TA routs Holon; Eilat moves into second
11/26/2012 05:22
Maccabi Tel Aviv rebounded from Friday’s Euroleague defeat with a comfortable BSL victory at Hapoel Holon.
Hapoel Eilat's Eli Holman. Photo: Uzi Gal
Maccabi Tel Aviv rebounded from Friday’s Euroleague defeat with a comfortable
BSL victory at Hapoel Holon on Sunday, while Hapoel Jerusalem saw its three-game
winning streak come to an abrupt ending at Malha Arena at the hands of Ironi
Ashkelon.
Maccabi fell to second place in Euroleague Group B after losing
89-87 at Montepaschi Siena for its second straight continental defeat, but
opened a doubledigit lead in the second period in Holon and never looked back,
claiming a 100-72 win.
David Logan led five Maccabi players in double
figures with 15 points.
Frank Hassell had 26 points and 17 boards for
Holon, which trailed by 12 points at halftime (47-35) and by 20 (71-51) with 10
minutes to play.
Ashkelon had asked for Sunday’s game at Malha to be
postponed due to last week’s rocket fire from Gaza, but it was surely delighted
that its pleas were rejected after beating Jerusalem 91-85 for its first win of
the season.
Jerusalem held the lead for most of the first half, but
Marcus Moore’s points to end the second quarter gave the visitors a onepoint
edge (44-43) at the break.
A tight second half came down to the final two
minutes, with Marcus Dove’s three-point play with 1:52 remaining giving Ashkelon
a five-point gap (88- 83) from which the error-prone Jerusalem would not
return.
Moore had 22 points for Ashkelon, with Dove scoring
18.
Craig Smith led Jerusalem with 28 points.
Also Sunday, Hapoel
Eilat improved to 5-2 with a 68-64 win at the feisty Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Tel
Aviv controlled the first three periods, but had just a two-point gap (50-48)
ahead of the final frame. Eilat made its run when it mattered most, going on a
late 7-0 surge to bounce back from last week’s loss to Maccabi Tel
Aviv.
Scotty Hopson had 16 points for Eilat, with Eli Holman immense
under the baskets, contributing 12 points and 18 rebounds. Curtis Kelly had 22
points for Hapoel.
On Monday, Barak Netanya welcomes Hapoel Gilboa/Galil
and Maccabi Rishon Lezion visits Bnei Herzliya. Maccabi Ashdod’s game against
Maccabi Haifa was postponed to Wednesday due to Operation Pillar of Defense’s
effect on Ashdod’s preparations.