By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Tel Aviv got a 1-0 lead in the Israeli League best-of-three quarterfinal series against Beer Sheva by taking a 67 – 56 win. The “Yellows” couldn’t enjoy the result much since they saw forward Dragan Bender exiting the game with what looked like a knee injury in the first half. His MRI later revealed that he tore his ACL.
Ante Zizic was particularly effective with 20 points (9-12 shots) and five rebounds, inflicting damage on Beer Sheva inside the paint. Angelo Caloiaro added 12 points while Scottie Wilbekin finished with 10 points and six assists.
Amit Suss (12 points) and Amir Bell (12 points) stood out from Beer Sheva that made just 19 – 58 shots and committed 23 turnovers against a strong Maccabi defense. The winning squad shut down its opponents 19 – 7 in the third quarter to gain a 52 – 38 advantage and stayed out of trouble for the rest of the match.