Maccabi Tel Aviv eked out its 12th-straight win over all competitions at Maccabi Ashdod, while Hapoel Tel Aviv suffered its first defeat since the end of November.
By ALLON SINAIHapoel Tel Aviv’s Matan Naor and Hapoel Holon forward Isaac Rosefelt.(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Maccabi Tel Aviv eked out its 12th-straight win over all competitions at Maccabi Ashdod on Monday night, while Hapoel Tel Aviv suffered its first defeat since the end of November.There was little to separate Maccabi and Ashdod throughout the night, and it was the hosts who held a five-point lead (78-73) as late as the midway point of the final frame.However, a late 8-0 run put the yellow-and-blue in control (84-80) and saw it improve to 10-4 in the BSL with an 88-85 victory.Tyrese Rice and David Blu led five Maccabi players in double figures with 13 points each, while R.T. Guinn had 28 points for Ashdod, which dropped to 2-13 with its ninth consecutive loss.Hapoel Tel Aviv (9-5) had won eight games in a row overall – six in the league and two in the State Cup – entering Monday’s encounter against Hapoel Holon (8-7). But it couldn’t survive the loss of its top-scorer Raviv Limonad to injury midway through the third quarter, with Holon scoring the final nine points of the night to claim a 75-70 road win.Tel Aviv began the game with an 8-0 surge and looked to have gotten off to an ideal start when it took a double-digit (22- 12) gap into the second period.However, Holon would rally back and closed to within six points (36-30) by the break.Brian Asbury’s jumper gave Holon its first lead of the game (44-43) five minutes into the third frame after the hosts lost Limonad to a shoulder injury and things stayed tight from that point.Tel Aviv still seemed to be heading to another win when Vincent Council’s three-point play opened a four-point gap (70-66) with 1:55 minutes remaining.But Holon would have the last laugh, with Laurence Bowers’s three-pointer with 26 seconds to play putting the visitors in front for good (72-70).Isaac Rosefelt built on his recent excellent form for Holon with 19 points and 12 rebounds, with Asbury also scoring 19 points and Bowers adding 17 points.Despite missing the final 15 minutes of the encounter, Limonad led Tel Aviv with 16 points, ensuring he has still scored at least 15 points in every league game this season, extending his streak to 14.
Related TagsHapoel Tel Aviv
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