Gilboa/Galil snagged an important 79-72 away win from Maccabi Haifa Heat, keeping itself in the playoff picture, and raining on the debut of Haifa acquisitions Malik Dixon and Cheyne Gadson. Haifa seemed in control of the game until the final quarter, taking a 59-52 lead into the final period.
However, Galil's perimeter game shifted gears down the stretch, allowing forward Brian Randle to penetrate more easily, as the offense produced 27 fourth quarter points. On defense, big man Brad Buckman adjusted along with Randle to set up an aerial defense that shut down Haifa's Brooks Sales and Ido Kozikaro.
In the league's second contest last night, Maccabi Rishon Letzion dogged host Hapoel Holon for over 45 minutes but fell apart in the second overtime, losing 107-106. The underdogs had trailed by as much as nine points late in the third quarter, but the State Cup champs could not put away their weaker opponent.
Rishon Letzion tied the game at 80-80 at the end of regulation on a prayer of a basket by DeMarco Johnson, then repeated the feat in the waning seconds of the first overtime. After Holon ran off the first six points, Johnson brought Rishon back. With three ticks left, Robert Conley rebounded Johnson's errant free throw and stuck the ball back in the hole to knot the game at 92-apiece.
In the second OT, it was Rishon's turn to reel off the first six points, but then the visitors lost their steam. Holon stormed back as two free throws by Luis Flores put Holon ahead for good with 8.7 seconds left.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Maccabi Haifa Heat 82-Hapoel Holon 75 (23/2/2009)
Maccabi Haifa gained a small measure of revenge over Hapoel Holon on Monday night, defeating the new State Cup holder 82-75, four days after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the cup final at the Nokia Arena.
By winning for the seventh time in its last nine BSL games, Haifa has cemented third place in the standings and is very well placed to claim home-court advantage in the playoffs.
"This victory slightly sweetens the cup final loss," Haifa forward Moshe Mizrahi said.
"It would have been easiest to drop our heads after the cup final, but this is sports and you need to know how to keep looking ahead and concentrate on your remaining goals."
Davon Jefferson led Haifa with 24 points and 10 rebounds, with Mizrahi adding 21 points for Maccabi, which also got 11 points and 12 boards from captain Ido Kozikaro.
Deron Washington scored 24 points and took nine rebounds for Holon, with Chris Watson and Curtis Withers scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"We've gone through some very intensive days and we really wanted to come back down to earth," Holon coach Danny Franco said.
"The players were slightly over eager and Haifa played better than us and deserved to win."
Holon opened the game with a 10-2 run, but Haifa came right back and led by 11 points at one stage (31-20).
The first half ended tied at 40-40 and the teams still couldn't be separated entering the final 10 minutes (62-62).
The contest remained tight until the final minute, but Amit Ben-David's three-pointer with 32 seconds to play opened a six-point margin (79-73), from which there was no coming back for the hosts.
Hapoel Holon 69-Maccabi Haifa Heat 68 (20/2/2009)
Hapoel Holon won its first ever State Cup last night 69-68 over the Maccabi Haifa Heat on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner by guard Brian Tolbert.
A crowd of some 10,000 at Tel Aviv's Yad Eliyahu Arena took in the battle between the two Cinderella-story teams which just a few seasons ago would have seemed improbable competitors for the Premier League title.
Last season Holon surprised parquet pundits and fans alike by stealing the league championship from Maccabi Tel Aviv 73-72 at the perennial winner's home court.
Haifa had been out of the top division for the decade before this season, and last night marked its first Cup final appearance in nearly a quarter century.
The two upstarts seemed like a perfectly even match in the first quarter, as Deron Washington led the charge for Holon and Brooks Sales took control for Haifa. Neither team was able to take the upper hand, and the game remained locked at 18 at the end of the first quarter.
Holon's offense faltered in the second period, and Haifa lost no time in exploiting its opponent's weakness for a 9-0 run. A pair of three-pointers from point man Amit Ben David widened the lead further, and Haifa led by nine going into the third.
After the half, ex-Haifa forward Uri Kokia converted a steal into an easy layup. The "heat" in the third quarter belonged almost entirely to Holon, which embarked on a 14-2 run capped by a trio of three-pointers from guard Luis Flores, giving it a 55-51 lead before the final quarter.
Haifa kept fighting in the fourth, as California-bred big man Devon Jefferson nailed a jumper in the paint to bring the Heat within four, and a Gur Porat three skimmed the lead to a single point.
Haifa finally took the lead on a B.J. McKie jumper with less than a minute to go, but its margin remained razor-thin as the clock wound down, as foul shots from both sides of the court prevented either team from pulling away.
On its final possession, with just 8.1 seconds to go, Holon got the ball to guard Brian Tolbert.
Drawing a double-team, the 34-year-old dribbled into the corner of three-point range, letting off a wild shot while almost falling out of bounds. The shot swished through the net, handing Holon its first Cup title and leaving no time on the clock for Haifa to respond.
Holon fans decked in yellow and purple jumped to their feet as Tolbert performed a victory lap around the court, trailed by his unbelieving, ecstatic teammates.
A crowd of some 10,000 at Tel Aviv's Yad Eliyahu Arena took in the battle between the two Cinderella-story teams which just a few seasons ago would have seemed improbable competitors for the Premier League title.
Last season Holon surprised parquet pundits and fans alike by stealing the league championship from Maccabi Tel Aviv 73-72 at the perennial winner's home court.
Haifa had been out of the top division for the decade before this season, and last night marked its first Cup final appearance in nearly a quarter century.
The two upstarts seemed like a perfectly even match in the first quarter, as Deron Washington led the charge for Holon and Brooks Sales took control for Haifa. Neither team was able to take the upper hand, and the game remained locked at 18 at the end of the first quarter.
Holon's offense faltered in the second period, and Haifa lost no time in exploiting its opponent's weakness for a 9-0 run. A pair of three-pointers from point man Amit Ben David widened the lead further, and Haifa led by nine going into the third.
After the half, ex-Haifa forward Uri Kokia converted a steal into an easy layup. The "heat" in the third quarter belonged almost entirely to Holon, which embarked on a 14-2 run capped by a trio of three-pointers from guard Luis Flores, giving it a 55-51 lead before the final quarter.
Haifa kept fighting in the fourth, as California-bred big man Devon Jefferson nailed a jumper in the paint to bring the Heat within four, and a Gur Porat three skimmed the lead to a single point.
Haifa finally took the lead on a B.J. McKie jumper with less than a minute to go, but its margin remained razor-thin as the clock wound down, as foul shots from both sides of the court prevented either team from pulling away.
On its final possession, with just 8.1 seconds to go, Holon got the ball to guard Brian Tolbert.
Drawing a double-team, the 34-year-old dribbled into the corner of three-point range, letting off a wild shot while almost falling out of bounds. The shot swished through the net, handing Holon its first Cup title and leaving no time on the clock for Haifa to respond.
Holon fans decked in yellow and purple jumped to their feet as Tolbert performed a victory lap around the court, trailed by his unbelieving, ecstatic teammates.
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