Mac TA pulls out close one over Holon as Shelef remembered

Team edged Hapoel Holon 87-83.

By ALLON SINAI
Hapoel Tel Aviv team manager Uri Shelef passed away at the age of 43 yesterday, after suffering cardiac arrest (photo credit: ODED KARNI/BSL)
Hapoel Tel Aviv team manager Uri Shelef passed away at the age of 43 yesterday, after suffering cardiac arrest
(photo credit: ODED KARNI/BSL)
After seeing its 17-game BSL winning streak snapped by Hapoel Jerusalem last week, Maccabi Tel Aviv embarked on what it hopes will be another lengthy run of victories on Monday, edging Hapoel Holon 87-83 on the road.
Maccabi suffered a resounding 93-77 defeat to Jerusalem at home last week before also falling at Real Madrid in Euroleague action. The yellow-and-blue was without the injured Yogev Ohayon on Monday, as well as Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Sylven Landesberg, but did enough to eke out the win.
Devin Smith and Alex Tyus both finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds for Tel Aviv, which will hope to welcome back Ohayon and Sofo for Thursday’s crucial Euroleague game against Galatasaray.
Tony Crocker led Holon with 36 points.
The contest in Holon, as well as the rest of the night’s games, began with a moment’s silence in memory of Hapoel Tel Aviv team manager Uri Shelef.
Shelef passed away on Sunday from a cardiac arrest at the age of 43.
He left behind a wife and two children.
Shelef was laid to rest in Kfar Saba on Monday, with Hapoel holding a wake in his honor at its new arena earlier in the day.
His brother Gur, a former star at Maccabi Tel Aviv, and club captain Matan Naor were among those who eulogized Uri. Perhaps more than anyone else, Shelef was responsible for the resurrection of Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Shelef helped set up the fan owned Hapoel Ussishkin in the summer of 2007 following the demolition of Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Ussishkin Arena and played a key role in leading the club back to prominence.
Hapoel came full circle in January of this year when it entered its new arena.
Hapoel’s game vs Maccabi Ashdod, set for Monday, was postponed to Thursday.
Elsewhere Monday, Ironi Ness Ziona won for just the second time in the past 10 games, ending Maccabi Haifa’s threegame winning streak with a 97-73 home victory.
Anthony Goods led six Ness Ziona players in double figures in his debut, scoring 20 points.
Rene Rougeau had 19 points for Haifa.
Hapoel Gilboa/Galil won for the second time in three games under new coach Ariel Beit-Halachmi, beating Bnei Herzliya 98-83. Alex Young had 26 points and nine rebounds for the winners, with Jasper Johnson finishing with 22 points for Herzliya.
Maccabi Rishon Lezion snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday, defeating Ironi Nahariya 86-66. Rishon led by just a single point entering the final 10 minutes, but clinched the win by outscoring Nahariya 27-8 in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Swann finished with 20 points for Rishon, while Nahariya’s Robert Rothbart continued his superb form with 19 points and 13 boards.