Eilat clinches final berth for quarterfinals

Hapoel Eilat became the eighth and final team to advance to the State Cup quarterfinals on Monday, beating Maccabi Haifa 78-67.

By ALLON SINAI
Hapoel Eilat guard Nitzan Hanochi 370 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Hapoel Eilat guard Nitzan Hanochi 370
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Hapoel Eilat became the eighth and final team to advance to the State Cup quarterfinals on Monday, beating Maccabi Haifa 78-67.
Eilat opened a 10-point lead (22-12) after 10 minutes and scored the first six points of the second quarter to increase its gap to 16 points. A dunk by Yancy Gates to end the first half ensured the hosts still held a 16- point cushion (43-27), but Haifa would close to within just three points in the fourth quarter (62- 59). However, Eilat would reply with a 14-4 run to secure its progress to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Terrence Roderick led Eilat with 17 points, with Gates scoring 15 points and Kevin Palmer adding 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Eilat will next face the National League’s lone representative in the last eight, Ramat Hasharon.
Monday’s draw also threw up a mouthwatering showdown between the in-form Hapoel Tel Aviv and the surging Hapoel Jerusalem.
Tel Aviv beat Ironi Ness Ziona 82-72 on the road in the last 16 on Sunday and has won three straight BSL games since losing to Jerusalem last month, moving to a 7-4 record, second only to Jerusalem (8-3). The team from the capital has won eight of its past nine league games, but had to dig deep to defeat Hapoel Galil Elyon of the second division in the last 16 on Sunday.
In Thursday’s other quarterfinals, Maccabi Rishon Lezion, which sacked coach Matan Harush on Monday, will host Hapoel Gilboa/Galil and Maccabi Tel Aviv will welcome Bnei Herzliya.
Hapoel Holon’s appeal against its 79-73 loss in overtime to Herzliya on Sunday was rejected by the Israel Basketball Association on Monday. Holon’s Laurence Bowers had his basket at the end of regulation wrongly disallowed by the referees, who had thought the final buzzer had already sounded. Nevertheless, the IBA determined that the mistake was not intentional and ruled that the final result will stand.