Bnei Hasharon falters at home; Holon tastes victory

Rishon outscored Bnei Hasharon in the first period, hosts unsuccessfully chased Effi Birenboim’s team for the remainder of the encounter.

By ALLON SINAI
Bnei Hasharon basketball 311 (R) (photo credit: Reuters)
Bnei Hasharon basketball 311 (R)
(photo credit: Reuters)
Bnei Hasharon missed a chance to move tied on points with Hapoel Jerusalem in second place in the BSL standings on Monday night, suffering a surprising 88-81 home defeat to Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
Rishon outscored Bnei Hasharon 29-15 in the first period and the hosts unsuccessfully chased Effi Birenboim’s team for the remainder of the encounter.
Isaiah Swann scored 25 points for Rishon, which snapped a four-game losing skid.
Shawn James had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Bnei Hasharon, which will now have to win two more games than Jerusalem in the remaining three weeks of the season to overtake Hapoel, which owns the tiebreaker over Dan Shamir’s side.
Elsewhere, after losing its last three games by an average 27.7 points, Hapoel Holon returned to winning ways on Monday, beating Barak Netanya 82-75.
Holon led 37-34 after a tight first half and maintained a slender margin throughout the second half.
Moran Rot had 28 points for Holon, with Nir Cohen adding 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Adrian Banks scored 28 points for Netanya, while Elton Brown contributed 20 points and 11 boards.
Meanwhile, Elitzur Ramle took a 1-0 lead in the women’s league playoff finals on Monday, beating Maccabi Ashdod 73-64.
Ashdod led for most of the first three periods, but the State Cup and Eurocup holder came back in the final 10 minutes to move within two victories of an unprecedented treble.
Charde Houston had 23 points for Ramle, with Renee Montgomery and Katia Levitsky scoring 14 for Ashdod, which swept reigning-champion Ramat Hasharon in the semifinals.
Game 2 in the best-of-five series will be played Thursday in Ashdod.
Mac TA’s request being considered by Euroleague Also Monday, the Euroleague announced that it has received from Maccabi Tel Aviv documentation that outlines the club’s official posture concerning its participation in the Final Four in Barcelona next month.
“Maccabi has expressed its concern over the scheduling of the event as it coincides with Yom Hazikaron, a day on which Israeli law does not allow nationals to participate in any sporting event,” the Euroleague press release read.
“With the information provided by Maccabi, Euroleague Basketball is evaluating the situation and the possible effects on all parties involved, including television partners, participating clubs, organizers, fans and sponsors.
“Euroleague Basketball wishes to finalize the evaluations to be able to make a decision before the end of the week, bearing in mind that Euroleague Basketball will prioritize what is best for the competition and all its clubs as a whole.”