By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced to the Israeli League Final Four after recording an 83-68 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the deciding Game 3 of the quarterfinals.
Maccabi couldn’t count on injured Yovel Zoosman, Quincy Acy and Elijah Bryant while Scottie Wilbekin got suspended a few hours before the tip-off, however, the rest of the squad stepped up on the head wiith Tyler Dorsey and Deni Avdija.
Tyler Dorsey banked game-high 26 points including ten in the third quarter to lift Maccabi up from a bit of a crisis as Hapoel was taking over the lead (51-47).
Avdija seemed rather ‘quiet’ during that period but he most certainly made up for it in crunch time. He drained ten (out of 22 points) in the fourth quarter to spark a run which put Maccabi ahead 74-65 and practically decided the victors with three minutes left.
Dorsey shot 9-14 from the field including 4-8 from deep while adding eight rebounds and seven assists as well. Avdija didn’t trail behind either with ten rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks next to his name. They logged 38 and 27 index rating respectively.
On the other side, another prospect in Yam Madar showed once again his talent with 18 points, six assists and four steals. Tomer Ginat followed with 13 and Sek Henry with 12 points.
Earlier, another Game 3 took place as Gilboa Galil grabbed an 87-82 win to get past Hapoel Holon.
Yiftach Ziv and Akil Mitchell led the way with 24 and 22 points respectively while the latter also grabbed ten boards for a double-double. Michael Young and Joe Thomasson helped with 15 points each.
For Holon, Shavon Coleman scored 23 in addition to Jimmy Hall’s 18 as well as Guy Pnini and Jermaine Love’s 12 points each.
The two winning sides of tonight’s matchups, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gilboa Galil, will be one of the semifinal matchups while the other belongs to the clash between Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Rishon.