Basketball: Bnei Hasharon storms into cup quarters

At Zisman Arena in Ramat Gan, Bnei Hasharon ran riot right from the start and trounced the hosts 101-62.

By ALLON SINAI
Bnei Hasharon 224.88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Bnei Hasharon 224.88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
There's only one more place up for grabs in the quarterfinals of the State Cup after Bnei Hasharon, Maccabi Givat Shmuel and Hapoel Afula all claimed a berth in the last eight of the competition on Sunday night. Maccabi Tel Aviv visits Ironi Nahariya on Monday in the final last-16 game, with the winner to join Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Holon, which received byes into the last eight, as well as Maccabi Haifa, Ironi Ashkelon, Bnei Hasharon, Givat Shmuel and Afula. At Zisman Arena in Ramat Gan, Bnei Hasharon ran riot right from the start and trounced the hosts 101-62. The visitors raced to a very quick 16-4 advantage and led 26-10 by the end of the first period. Bnei Hasharon effectively clinched the victory by opening a 53-29 margin at the break and coach Ariel Beit-Halachmi was very pleased with his team's performance. "We were very composed and knew this was a cup tie we couldn't afford to lose," Beit-Halachmi said. "We made the game easy in the first half and continued to push until the end." Ousmane Cisse scored 23 points for the winners, with Ori Itzhaki adding 19 points. Mike Helms led Ramat Gan with 19 points. In another one-sided affair on Sunday, Givat Shmuel thrashed Maccabi Rishon Lezion 98-76. The hosts led throughout the entire encounter at Or Yehuda, never allowing Miki Dorsman's men to get a foothold in the game. Jermaine Hall scored 24 points and Cory Carr added 20 points for Givat Shmuel. Robert Conley and Avi Sukar each scored 17 points for the losers. Afula will be the only National League side in the quarterfinal draw after defeating Hod Hasharon 91-87. Hapoel trailed 27-9, but mounted a remarkable comeback to take the lead by the interval and held off Hod Hasharon in the second half to advance to the last eight of the cup.