Kiryat Ata defeated Maccabi Ramat Gan 94-84 in overtime to take a commanding 2-0 quarterfinal series lead with a chance to advance to the semifinals with a match slated for Sunday evening at Zisman Arena (6pm). After a back and forth game for the opening 40 minutes which saw Amin Stevens doing the damage for the hosts and Nuni Omot countering for the visitors, Guy Palatin drew Kiryat Ata even with 46 seconds left thanks to a 3-pointer to knot the game up at 74-74 at the end of regulation time.

James Batemon along with Stevens and JJ Kaplan helped spur a 20 point extra session to give Sharon Avrahami’s squad a stranglehold on their quarterfinal series. Stevens scored 24 points, Palatin added 20 points and Batemon scored 19 points in the win. Omot scored 18 points while a trip of players chipped in with 12 points a piece in the loss.

“Character, belief and a bit of luck,” Avrahami began after the overtime win. “This game was a microcosm of our entire season as we have won close games all year long. JJ Kaplan, what he did was just incredible, Raz Adam was unsure he would play and he did. It shows you what type of team we have.”