The Israel Basketball Premier League playoffs are heating up as three of the quarterfinal series ended in sweeps, while one is still alive and heading to a fourth game.
Bnei Herzliya defeated Hapoel Holon 94-86 to stay alive in their series and force a Game 4 back in Holon on Wednesday.
The game opened at a frenetic pace with points pouring in on both sides. Shalev Lugashi couldn’t miss from deep and Chinanu Onuaku dominated inside for the hosts. Holon countered with Dakarai Tucker and Iftach Ziv, but more buckets from Lugashi and Elijah Stewart gave Herzliya a 49-43 advantage at halftime.
Quinton Meeks extended Herzliya’s lead early in the third quarter. Holon countered with Michale Kyser, Ziv and Tucker, pulling within reach. Yet Herzliya had the final word, with Meeks, Stewart and Lugashi all knocking down clutch shots late to seal the win.
Onuaku led the way for Herzliya with 22 points. Lugashi added 21 and Stewart finished with 20. Tucker paced Holon with 19 points, followed by Ziv with 18 and Kyser with 13.
Herzliya head coach Yehu Orland reflected on the win.
“The win kept us alive in this series and it’s great because we really didn’t want to end the season here in Game 3. The team that is playing now is not the one that finished fourth – we’re totally different with a new style of play.
A basketball team needs to adapt, and I have to say management did a tremendous job bringing in replacements for the injured players. Hats off to them – we are improving every day.”
Holon head coach Guy Kaplan credited his opponents.
“We expected this reaction from Bnei Herzliya. They play very well at home. Even when we were ahead, we were still a step behind.”
Lugashi said, “We came in more focused than in any other game. We believed in ourselves and stuck together on offense. I wanted this so badly and took what the game gave me.”
Ziv commented on the loss for Holon.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and that the series wouldn’t end in three. We blew some chances. Hopefully we can close it out in Game 4. We’re a better defensive team than the one that gave up 94 points and we have to prove that.”
Maccabi, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Hapoel Jerusalem advance with sweeps
Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced to the semifinals with a dominant 98-75 win over Ironi Ness Ziona, sweeping the series 3-0.
Bryce Brown started hot for Ness Ziona, and Ricky Lindo chipped in, but Tamir Blatt, Trevion Williams, Jimmy Clark, and Levi Randolph gave Maccabi a 48-40 lead at halftime.
Roman Sorkin and Rokas Jokubaitis opened the second half strong, Williams joined in, and Jake Cohen – celebrating his 500th game with the club along with John DiBartolomeo – helped close out the win in style
Williams scored 18 points, Randolph added 15, and Cohen chipped in 11. Brown led Ness Ziona with 24 points, while Lindo and Jake Van Tubbergen each scored 10.
Maccabi head coach Oded Katash commented after the series-clinching win.
“I’m happy we did what we needed to do to advance to the semifinals. We controlled the series. Ness Ziona had a great season and gave us trouble at the start of games, but ultimately our depth made the difference. I hope we can become more consistent heading into the semifinals. I also want to recognize Jake and John for reaching 500 games – they are incredible people and deserve everything.”
Ness Ziona head coach Amit Sherf said: “Maccabi is a very strong and deep team with great momentum. We did our best and even made a change in our lineup, but we couldn’t hold them off the way we wanted to.”Cohen reflected on the milestone.
“I’m privileged to have been with this club for so long and to share it with great people. It’s not just the championships I cherish, but also the tough times – nothing captures that more than the last two years. To share the night with John was really special. He’s like a brother to me. Having my wife and kids there made it even better. I want to say thanks.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv also cruised into the semifinals, defeating Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 86-72 to complete their 3-0 sweep.
Ish El-Amin and Gur Lavy opened the scoring for Gilboa/Galil, while Bar Timor and Antonio Blakeney responded for Tel Aviv. Marcus Foster erased the visitors’ lead and gave the hosts a 43-32 edge at the break. Gilboa tried to cut into the lead through Niv Misgav, Josh Price and Paul Scruggs, but Johnathan Motley, Oz Blayzer and Blakeney closed the door.
“We were the better team,” said Hapoel Tel Aviv head coach Dimitrios Itoudis. “Game by game, practice by practice we’ve gotten better. They battled, but we had a great EuroCup run, finished first in the regular season, and we’re still fighting. Even with injuries, I love our team’s resilience.”
Gilboa/Galil coach Sharon Avrahami said: “We wanted to win at least one game, so that’s disappointing. But we take pride in how we competed.”
Finally, Hapoel Jerusalem dominated Maccabi Ramat Gan 87-61 to sweep their series and move into the semifinals, where it will meet Hapoel Tel Aviv in a best-of-three series.
Yovel Zoosman and Jared Harper set the tone early while Keyshawn Feazell kept Ramat Gan close. But from the second quarter on, it was all Jerusalem as Khadeen Carrington, Jeremy Morgan, Justin Smith and Nimrod Levi pulled away for the comfortable win.
Smith led Jerusalem with 16 points, while Harper, Morgan, Levi, and Zoosman all added 11. Feazell and Kendale McCullum each scored 13 for Ramat Gan.
“I feel very good about the win,” said Hapoel Jerusalem coach Yonatan Alon. “I don’t take a sweep over a strong team like Ramat Gan for granted. They have an excellent coach. Now we face Hapoel Tel Aviv – a tough, deep team with high expectations. But we’ve beaten them before, and I hope we do it again.”
Ramat Gan coach Shmulik Brenner said: “We’re disappointed with how we ended the season. We didn’t have our full roster for much of the year, but we played well in the Basketball Champions League and we’re proud of what we achieved.”
Zoosman added: “We’ve moved on and can now focus on the next series. It’s a bit strange that the semifinals are best-of-three while the quarters were best-of-five – playing more games would be great for basketball – but we’ll do what we need to against a tough team.”
Ramat Gan veteran Adam Ariel assessed his team’s campaign despite the loss.
“We’re proud of our season, including our European campaign. We battled through injuries and losses and put ourselves in a position to win every game. We wanted to go further, but we’ll head into the summer with our heads held high.”
