By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Oded Katash decided to rest Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin before the double week in EuroLeague, and Maccabi Tel Aviv struggled against Hapoel Haifa but eventually won 108-104 after double overtime.
Jaylen Adams led the winning side with 26 points and seven rebounds, while Bonzie Colson had a double-double with 25 points and ten rebounds.
Josh Nebo added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Roman Sorkin had an identical stat line.
On the other side, Anthony Hickey scored 30 points with nine assists, Kadeem Allen followed with 22 points, Devonte Upson finished the match with 21 points and nine rebounds, and Spenser Weisz with 13 and five.
Hapoel had a 14-point lead in the third period, but Maccabi refused to give up. With a 10-1 run, they trimmed the deficit to just five points but were still left behind eight points before the fourth quarter.
With a 10-0 run in the final moments, the Tel Aviv team finally turned the score around, but Hickey and his teammates fought back. Kadeem Allen had a chance to win the game for Hapoel in the final seconds but couldn’t convert his shot, and the game went to overtime with 88-88 on the scoreboard.
Chaos ensued. Both teams looked rushed to take control and took a bunch of early shots. The fight for every possession was immense, and Maccabi had a chance to win this time. Jalen Adams took the matter into his own hands but couldn’t find the opening and nearly lost the ball. With less than a second to go, the hosts tried to win the game with an alley-oop inbound pass to Sorkin, who managed to take the shot but not to make it. After 45 minutes, it was 97-97.
Maccabi opened the second overtime with a 7-0 run, and it looked like they would finish the job. But Hapoel found the strength to fight back again and got within two points in the final seconds (106-104). On the next Maccabi possession, Will Rayman blocked Roman Sorkin, but it turned out that he did it by putting his hand through the rim, so the officials watched the video and granted two points to the big man of the Tel Aviv team. Hapoel couldn’t respond, and Maccabi won. Crazy ending to a crazy match in Tel Aviv. One to remember.
Winner League Round 13:
Bnei Ofek Dist Herzeliya – Hapoel Atsmon Holon 77-64
Hapoel Gilboa Galil – Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv 71-81
Hapoel Nofar Galil Elion – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 89-83
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv – Hapoel B-Cure Laser Haifa 108-104 2OT
Ironi Taxon Kiryat Ata – Hapoel Altshuler Shaham Beer Sheva/Dimona (9/1)
Hapoel Yossi Avrahami Eilat – Ironi Hai Motors Ness Ziona (9/1)
Standings: 1. Maccabi Tel Aviv 11-2, 2. Hapoel Tel Aviv 10-2, 3. Hapoel Holon 8-5, 4. Nes Ziona 7-5, 5. Hapoel Jerusalel 7-6, 6. Bnei Herzliya 6-6…