State Cup basketball: Netanya hopes to continue run; Mac TA visits Afula

State Cup basketball Ne

By ALLON SINAI
After stunning Hapoel Jerusalem in the last 16 of the State Cup, Barak Netanya will be looking to send yet another of the favorites packing on Sunday night when it hosts Hapoel Gilboa/Galil in the quarterfinals. Netanya, which claimed a nail-biting 77-76 victory over Jerusalem at the Malha Arena, has impressed since gaining promotion to the BSL, especially at home where it has won five of six games, including another victory over Jerusalem. Gilboa will be wary of Netanya, but will still be confident of making it into the semifinals after thrashing the Sharon side 109-82 in league play last month. Maccabi Tel Aviv will be expecting to encounter few problems on its way to the last four when it visits Hapoel Afula on Sunday. Tel Aviv, which received a bye into the quarterfinals as last season's league champion, is a perfect 9-0 in the BSL and completely outplayed Afula when the team's met in league action earlier this season, winning 108-71 at the Nokia Arena. Maccabi has not won the cup since 2006, only reaching the final once in the last three seasons. In related news, Tel Aviv's Chuck Eidson was named as the Euroleague's Week 9 MVP over the weekend, sharing the honor with Olympiacos rising star Milos Teodosic. Eidson recorded a performance index rating of 34 with a season-high 23 points while making 5 of 8 two-point shots and 10 of 12 free throws. He also posted 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 9 fouls drawn in Maccabi's 79-59 home victory over Lottomatica Roma. Hapoel Holon, which also advanced automatically into the last eight as last season's cup holder, hosts Ironi Ashkelon and a familiar face on Sunday night. Brian Tolbert scored the winning three-pointer for Holon in the cup final against Maccabi Haifa last season, and was also in charge of knocking Haifa out of the competition last month, scoring 28 points for Ashkelon in a surprise victory over last season's finalist. Sunday's game will also be Miki Dorsman's first as Holon coach since returning to the team last weekend. Dorsman's last game at the helm ended with Holon lifting the league title in 2008 after an unforgettable victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv. Bnei Hasharon hosts Ironi Nahariya in the fourth quarterfinal matchup on Sunday.