Hapoel Holon squeaked by Hapoel Jerusalem 89-85 to punch their ticket to the WINNER Cup Finals where they’ll face the winner of the second semifinal between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion on Sunday. Stefanos Dedas’s squad jumped all over the Cup holders in the first half with high pressure defense leading to 15 steals, but the Reds string third quarter put them in the drivers seat heading into the final frame. However, Tyrus McGee took the bull by the horns to lead Holon on a 12-0 run and the 4-point win.

McGee scored 27 points, CJ Harris added 19 points and Chris Johnson chipped in with 16 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Suleiman Braimoh led Jerusalem with 22 points, Tashawn Thomas scored 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds while Malcolm Hill added 14 points in the loss.

CJ Harris began the semifinal just as he ended the quarterfinal with points for Holon while Rich Howell and Chris Johnson while Malcolm Hill and Suleiman Braimoh found the basket for Jerusalem as the teams were knotted up at 6-6 midway through the first quarter. Harris and Tashawn Thomas traded buckets but Johnson and Tyrus McGee scored while Willy Workman hit his free throws as Holon’s 8 steals helped propel them to a 20-12 lead after ten minutes.

McGee got the second quarter started with a pair of triples, Chris Kramer nailed two from long distance for Jerusalem but a mega dunk by Isaiah Miles upped Holon’s lead to 31-19 with 6:41 remaining in the first half. Holon newcomer Frederic Bourdillon hit a layup and Harris a 3-pointer, Tamir Blatt drilled a jumper and Braimoh scored a pair in the paint to force Stefanos Dedas to call timeout with Holon still ahead 36-28 and 4:34 left in the frame. Blatt went from deep and Braimoh scored a pair for free throws but Johnson and Harris hit their shots as well to keep Holon in front 44-37 at halftime.

Hill and Blatt got things to things started for Jerusalem in the third quarter while McGee and Johnson answered for Holon but points by Braimoh and Thomas pulled Oded Katash’s crew to within two points 50-48 midway through the frame. Howell scored in the paint but Hill went from deep twice and Thomas once as the frantic pace continued. Briamoh and Kramer scored from beyond the arc as Jerusalem went a perfect 5/5 from 3-point range to grab a 63-58 lead after thirty minutes.

Holon’s Bourdillon drained a triple at the end of the shot clock and Willy Workman hit free throws but Tarik Phillip scored in the paint and was fouled while Thomas found points inside as well as Jerusalem led 71-63 with 6:29 left in regulation. McGee and Johnson scored for Holon but Thomas and Blatt did as well for Jerusalem but Guy Pnini free throws and a McGee bucket cut the Reds lead to 76-73 with a shade over two minutes remaining. McGee drained a pair from the charity stripe, Pnini drilled a triple as Holon went on a 12-0 run to seal the 89-85 win and advance to the Winner Cup finals.

3-Pointers
1) We knew that Holon was going to be a fun team to watch and we bought it was going to be their 3-point shooting, but that wasn’t the case tonight as Stefanos Dedas’s squad went 5/25 from deep. However, as Coach Dedas pointed out last week that his team has the best 2 point % in the league and they aren’t just a team that launches shots form deep and he’s 110% correct as they went 21/35 for 65%. Not only can Holon shoot, they can also play defense and press the other side which they did brilliantly in the first quarter with 8(!) steals off the bat and 15 for the game. Despite getting into some trouble in the 3rd quarter Holon hung around and then was able to take the victory. Did we say that Holon was going to be a fun team? “I think the approach we had before the game gave us the win,” said Dedas. “We said that we will play aggressively and we will do what Galil did to us in the quarterfinals. And that’s how we took the lead. We were in the game even when we were behind. We knew to attack the right players.”

2) Tyrus McGee was exceptional once again and whoever has seen him play in the past just knew that he was going to be a star here in Israel. He’s swift, shifty and knows how to move and groove to the basket. Plus he’s a pretty good shooter as well. With high octane players like McGee on your team you know that you’ll aways have a chance to win and so far he’s done exactly that. “We just need to looking forward and get better. We came out the way we were supposed to and basketball is a game of runs. Some shots didn’t go in, but we still got it done.” He was also well aware that Holon was looking to get back into the Finals of the Winner Cup for the first time in a long time and wanted to make good on that, “Yeah I knew that by the history it’s been 7 years since Holon has been in the semifinals and that was a little goal of mine.”

3) Jerusalem looks like a team that has lost their way and just don’t seem right. Yes, the roster has changed and yes it takes time to jell as a unit but the squad has been together now for two months and things just aren’t clicking. The Reds began the game poorly and then made a huge comeback in the 3rd quarter going 5/5 from beyond the arc which put them in front. Oded Katash’s squad looked to be in full control midway through the fourth frame with a 76-67 lead. But then ran up against a brick wall with 4 minutes to go when Holon went on a 12-0 run and put away a confused capital city side. “We lost because of a bad first half,” explained Katash. “We defended well at some points but they went to small ball. We played poorly on the full court press, we lost a lot of balls and they won the game. It’s hard to explain that but we will learn.” Tashawn Thomas also looked back on the loss and tried to explain what Jerusalem needs to do in order to get back to playing their style of ball, “It’s consistency right now. Sometimes I’m feeling the team and then there are times it feels shaky. But it’s a new team so you can expect that. We need to get over that hump and play like we can. It’s growing pains. Jerusalem were good last year and the year before that and people are used to that. I think with a little more time we can be the team that people expect us to be.” Jerusalem is still without its leader in J’Covan Brown who is out injured but Thomas doesn’t wan to use that as an excuse, “We miss Brown a lot and we’re looking forward for him to come back but we have to step up.”

Overtime
When is the last time you saw a player sign on Thursday night, make his debut 48 hours later and also make an impact on their new team? Well that’s what Frederic Bourdillon did for Holon. The newcomer played 13 minutes and scored 5 points going 2/2 from the field while playing some high minutes for his new team. It’s great to see Bourdillon back in Israel after beginning last season with Rishon Le’Zion and ending it with a League title with Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Frenchman has plenty to offer and hopefully his short term contract with the club will be extended for the entire campaign. McGee spoke about Bourdillon’s addition to the team, “He is 29 like all of us as well and he has the experience of playing as a professional.” Bourdillon also spoke to The Sports Rabbi about his debut, “It’s so good to be back on the court. The coach told me to take enjoy being on the court so I felt so comfortable and the guys on the team are all great teammates. They welcomed me in the best way!”