Hapoel Tel Aviv slipped by Hapoel Beer Sheva 112-108 in overtime to notch the tough win at Yad Eliyahu and improve their Israeli league record to 14-1 as they remain in first place. The southern reds played the hosts tight from the get go as CJ Elleby, Cody Demps and Brandon Angel all contributed to a 51-49 halftime lead for the visitors. Antonio Blakeney, Johnathan Motley along with Tomer Ginat and Bar Timor picked up the pace in the second half to open up a late double-digit lead.

However, Rami Hadar’s squad ripped off a 15-0 run as Damian Dunn and Yoav Vitlem led the charge while Angel scored the tying basket to send the game into the extra session. In overtime, Beer Sheva held their own but Ginat grabbed an offensive board and scored to put Dimitrios Itoudis’s side in front for good as they took the victory.

Blakeney scored 27 points, Motley added 23 points, Ginat put in 19 points in the win and Timor scored 13 points while Elleby and Vitlem each scored 22 points and Demps and Dunn each added 20 points in the loss.

Reds Head Coach Dimitris Itoudis shared his thoughts on the tough win, “Congratulations to the team. It seems we have some kind of issue where we want to give up a lead and make the game interesting. We have to take these wins. The other team was very good and we weren’t there defensively, but we’re the same team that came back in the second half and showed up well.”

Beer Sheva bench boss Rami Hadar spoke about his team’s showing, “I think we played very well, especially on the offensive side. Our ability to come back from a big deficit and force overtime makes me very happy. Our breaking point is high. On the other hand, we lost the game after we were right there, we had the game in our hands but that’s how things go, and we move on.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv forward Tomer Ginat talked about the dramatic victory, “First of all, we shouldn’t have gotten into this situation at all. We were in a position to win and it’s a shame we let it slip away. It’s the second time in three days that this has happened to us, but the main thing is that we won. We need to know how to finish games. We’ll talk about it, we’ll improve and the most important thing is to win.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Ramat Gan 98-91 by the skin of their teeth and needed to mount a pair of double digit comebacks to take the win on the road at the Zisman Arena. Shmulik Brenner’s squad grabbed a 50-43 advantage at halftime on the strength of a superb first half by Ronaldo Segu and Adam Ariel, but Oded Katash’s charges led by Tamir Blatt, TJ Leaf and a charged up Oshae Brissett turned the tables in the second half to snatch the win. Blatt scored 23 points, Leaf put in 20 points and Brissett scored 17 points in the victory while Ariel scored 23 points and Segu added 22 points in the loss. Next up for Maccabi is a visit to Valencia in Euroleague action on Thursday.

Yellow-and-blue head coach Oded Katash said after the game. “In the first half we weren’t there; we didn’t disrupt them. We were all over the place offensively, but I liked our response in the second half. We protected the ball better, defended better and were more aggressive, disrupted them a bit more and played simpler on offense. We’re coming off a week that wasn’t easy in terms of scheduling, but we got through this game. There are no easy games in the league. We need to remember this game and take things from it.”

The MVP, Tamir Blatt also shared his thoughts after the contest, “I’m happy that I’m playing well and helping the team win. Ramat Gan is a very well-coached team that plays in a specific system and that made things difficult for us. In the second half we got more stops, and that’s what brought the win.”

Hapoel Jerusalem got by Hapoel Galil Elyon 81-76 in a game that was neck-and-neck for the entire 40 minutes up at Kfar Blum. Yonatan Alon’s team jumped out to a quick 15-3 lead thanks to Jared Harper’s sharpshooting but Raz Adam helped Idan Avshalom’s squad to a 43-42 advantage at halftime. However, Jerusalem with Khadeen Carrington, Justin Smith and Yovel Zoosman were able to outscore Cyril Langevine, DJ Kennedy and Toney Douglas to take the win. Harper scored 17 points while Smith and Carrington each scored 12 points in the win as Langevine scored 16 points, Adam added 15 points and Kennedy put in 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the loss.

Jerusalem Head Coach Yonatan Alon said, “We’ll prepare for our upcoming games in full seriousness, the same way we prepare for every game and we hope to get the job done, just like we have so far in the big games.”

Idan Avshalom shared his thoughts, “Kennedy’s layup came up short while battling alone isn’t enough, we need to collect wins. I’m trying to do the things I believe in. We’ll need to strengthen the squad and we’ll do that over the next two weeks. This club deserves to stay up and we’ll do everything to make that happen.”

Hapoel Holon crushed Kiryat Ata 94-63 as Adama Sonogo starred in his debut with the purples that saw Yoav Shamir’s squad take an early lead and never look back to record the win. Sonogo scored 20 points, Netanel Artzi added 18 points and Derrick Walton put in 17 points in the win while Jemaya Neal scored 14 points and Ilay Dolinski put in 12 points in the loss.

Elitzur Netanya defeated Nes Ziona 95-91 as Amit Gershon led the way as six players scored in double digits to help the diamond city squad continue their fine play under new head coach Eli Raby. Gershon scored 20 points, Or Cornelius scored 14 points and Diante Baldwin added 13 points in his debut while Bryce Brown scored 24 points and Desi Rodriguez put in 15 points in the defeat.