Hapoel Holon defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 79-76 to pick up their first win of the season. CJ Harris starred for the hosts with 26 points as they controlled the game throughout the 40 minutes to notch the well earned victory.

In addition to Harris, newcomer Maxime De Zeeuw scored 15 points and Chris Johnson added 13 points for Stefanos Dedas’s squad in the win. Elijah Bryant led Maccabi with 21 points while Othello Hunter and Angelo Caloiaro each scored 12 points in the loss.

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Chris Johnson scored inside and CJ Harris found points in the outside for Holon while Scottie Wilbekin nailed a pair of jumpers for Maccabi as the hosts led 17-9 midway through the first quarter. Johnson continued to score in the paint, Isaiah Miles went from deep and newcomer Maxime De Zeeuw scored as well as Othello Hunter, Angelo Caloiaro and Dori Sahar put in points inside, but Holon held a 28-18 lead after ten minutes of play.

Sahar, John DiBartolomeo and Oz Blayzer got the second quarter off to a good start for Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s squad but Guy Pnini and devZeeuw answered from beyond the arc to stay ahead 36-27 with six minutes to go in the frame. Elijah Bryant drilled home a pair of triples and Blayzer put down a dunk off a fast break but Harris and Frederic Bourdillon kept Stefanos Dedas’s team in front 47-39.

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Sahar opened the scoring in the third quarter but Harris with another 3-pointer and a dunk from Willy Workman helped Holon maintain a 53-43 lead midway through the third quarter. Bryant went from downtown, Hunter scored inside, Sandy Cohen put in a layup as Maccabi cut the score to 60-58 after thirty minutes.

Yovel Zoosman who made his return after injury found points to kick off the fourth quarter, Caloiaro hit a jumper at the end of the shot clock but Miles nailed a triple and Harris put in a layup to stay in front 67-65 with 5:52 left in regulation time. Bourdillon put in a layup, Johnson scored free throws for Holon but Wilbekin did as well to keep the score knotted up at 72-72 with 1:53 to go. De Zeeuw drained a 3-pointer, Bryant answered at the other end but free throws by Harris and a clutch steal by Bourdillon sewed up the 79-76 Holon win.

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3-Pointers
1) Hapoel Holon played a terrific game for Coach Stefanos Dedas. The squad came out and played solid basketball for pretty much the entire game. They started off well and finished off strong. Although Maccabi came back and took a very short lived lead late in the game, Holon knew how to make the big shots down the stretch and score their free throws when they counted making coach Leads one happy man for all of the hard work his team has put in. “Congrats to my players we controlled the game against a good team. I like that Maccabi came with a full rotation and that motivated us. We played a balanced game and had a good shooting day. We’re always tying to improve the roster. 15 days we were with our backs to the wall practicing. I’m proud of the way we work.” CJ Harris also spoke about the team’s campaign to date, “We struggled in the league so far this season. We practiced hard and it paid off tonight. We’re are happy about it. We started the season off slow with some injuries but we are slowly getting better.”

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2) Trying to improve the roster was one of the things that Holon HAD to do. They needed to bring in a big man and that’s what they did in signing European veteran center Maxime De Zeeuw. The Belgian brings a wealth of basketball experience, knowledge and know how to Dedas’s team that will help tremendously both in the Champions League and the Israeli league as well. De Zeeuw spent the last two season at Obradoiro in the ACB League while also having played in Germany and the Czech Republic recently. Harris had this to say about his new teammate, “Maxime spreads the floor and knows when to cut, when to pass and he knows to balance the game. He is a vet and he knows how to play basketball. He is like a captain out there, he’s a cool guy, funny and fits in.” As for coach Dedas, De Zeeuw was a player that had been own his radar for a while, “Maxime is good. Nobody realizes he had 15 points. He has both an inside and outside game and he’s the type of player that I like. I’m satisfied and he gave more balance.”

Dor Sahar – Credit: Dov Halickman

3) Maccabi wasn’t in the game from the get go giving up 28 points in the first quarter and that cost them later on. That being said, one of the bright spots Coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos can look back on was the play of youngster Dori Sahar. The 19-year old has been with the senior said for a couple of seasons only having played minutes here and minutes there, but this year in league play he is starting to chalk up serious time in the Israeli league. In 15 minutes of play against Holon, Sahar screed 6 points while leaving a positive impression on his coach, “Dori is a GEVER (man). I’m very proud of how he is playing. He has to continue like that and he is humble. He’s a player that I know I can count on in tough games like this one.” As fro Sahar how did he sum up his performance? “I’m given confidence during the practice by the staff and players. I’ve been waiting to step on the court to pay for Maccabi from a young age. I had season tickets and I always dreamed of being able to play for the club. There’s no better feeling than that.”