No surprises as big guns all advance in Cup

J’lem overcomes Galil Elyon, with Mac TA and Hap TA also progressing to quarterfinals.

By ALLON SINAI
Maccabi Tel Aviv's Tyrese Rice 370 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Maccabi Tel Aviv's Tyrese Rice 370
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Hapoel Jerusalem survived a scare to reach the State Cup quarterfinals on Sunday night, joining the rest of the favorites in the draw for the last eight.
Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Rishon Lezion, Hapoel Gilboa/Galil, Bnei Herzliya and Ramat Hasharon of the second division, as well as Jerusalem, will be joined in the quarterfinals draw on Monday by the winner of the final last 16 showdown between Hapoel Eilat and Maccabi Haifa.
Jerusalem entered its encounter against Hapoel Galil Elyon of the second division brimming with confidence after taking sole possession of first place in the BSL with an 8-3 record thanks to Friday’s win at Maccabi Haifa.
The victory over the Greens came two days after an impressive triumph in the Eurocup saw Jerusalem progress to the Last 32 from the runners-up position and Galil Elyon wasn’t supposed to pose much of a threat on Sunday.
However, the National League side, which knocked out Barak Netanya of the BSL in the previous round, raced to an early lead and was ahead by as many as 15 points (41-26) midway through the second period at Kfar Blum. Jerusalem closed to within six points (46-40) by the break and a tight second half would ensue. An 8-0 run saw the visitors move into the lead (72-69), but Galil would tie the score before Jerusalem ultimately clinched an 81-76 victory thanks to crucial defensive stops and four accurate free throws from Ronald Dupree.
Derwin Kitchen led Jerusalem with 17 points and eight rebounds, with Artsiom Parakhouski scoring 16 points and Lior Eliyahu and Dupree adding 14 points each.
David Labo and Arik Artili had 24 points each for Galil.
Despite losing nine of its previous 10 BSL games, Maccabi Ashdod kept pace with Maccabi Tel Aviv for 15 minutes on Sunday, before dropping to an 83-65 loss at Nokia Arena.
An 18-4 surge to end the first half gave the yellow-andblue the initiative (44-35) and the hosts never lost control in the second half.
Ricky Hickman had 17 points for Maccabi, with Alex Tyus contributing 12 points and 12 rebounds. Zack Rosen led Ashdod with 14 points.
Bnei Herzliya advanced with a 79-73 win in overtime over Hapoel Holon, which had a Laurence Bowers basket at the end of regulation wrongly disallowed.
Holon should have won at the buzzer, but the mistake by the referees handed Herzliya a lifeline and the hosts would prevail.
Jakim Donaldson paced Herzliya with 21 points and 17 boards while Scottie Reynolds had 26 points for Holon.
Hapoel Tel Aviv beat Ironi Ness Ziona 82-72 on the road, opening a slender lead in the third period and never looking back.
Raviv Limonad netted 20 points for Hapoel, with Mitchell Watt leading Ness Ziona with 29 points and 16 rebounds.
Maccabi Rishon Lezion progressed to the last eight with a 64-58 victory over Hapoel Afula of the second division.
The BSL side didn’t secure the win until the final minute, with Dror Hagag hitting a three-pointer with 55 seconds to play to open a 62-58 advantage.
Hagag led Rishon with 16 points while Jeff Allen had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Afula.
Hapoel Gilboa/Galil claimed a comfortable 86-61 win at Elitzur Ramle of the National League behind 20 points from Amit Simhon. Or Eitan had 18 points for Ramle.
Ramat Hasharon will be the second division’s lone representative in the quarterfinals after beating fellow National League team Maccabi Be’er Ya’akov 82-66. Josh Alexander led the winners with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Raz Elbaz scored 20 points for the losers.