Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Hapoel Jerusalem 86-80 in the Israeli Classico at Yad Eliyahu. The Reds controlled the first half but the yellow-and-blue used a strong second half to propel the club to the victory. Scottie Wilbekin with 21 points and 10 assists and Amar’e Stoudemire with 17 points and 12 rebounds led the way for the Ioannis Sfairpoulos’s squad while Deni Avdija and Elijah Bryant each chipped in with 11 points a piece. Suleiman Braimoh was Jerusalem’s top scorer with 16 points, Jeremy Pargo added 13 points in his Reds debut and James Feldeine chipped in with 12 points all of which came in the first half.

Maccabi Haifa recorded their first win of the playoffs with a 94-79 home win over Nes Tziona. Nadav Zilberstein’s squad jumped out to a 29-18 lead after ten minutes but Andrew Andrews and Jerai Grant led the way over the final three quarters to notch the win for coach Daniel Seoane. Andrews scored 22 points, Grant added 18 points, while Reggie Upshaw and Willy Workman each clocked in with 11 points and 12 rebounds a piece. Cameron Oliver had a game high 26 points and 12 rebounds and Tal Dunne scored 14 points in the loss. https://youtu.be/K76sEQScjGU
Hapoel Eilat kept on winning as they sunk Maccabi Ashdod 93-87 at the Red Sea City. Milton Doyle led the charge for Arik Alfasi’s team with 26 points including six 3-pointers, Devon Scott recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds and Ben Carter pulled down 13 boards in the win. Ashdod, who played inspired ball had five players in double digits as Jairus Holder led the way with 20 points, Zac Cuthbertson chipped in with 14 points and Paul Stoll added 12 points and 13 assists.

Hapoel Gilboa Galil picked up 87-82 home victory over Nahariya at Gan Ner. Danny Franco’s Nahariya team made a late run but ran out of time as the Galilee squad held on for the 4-point win. Joe Thomasson once again starred for coach Lior Lubin as he led the way with 19 points while Micheal Young added 17 points and Akil Mitchell had 12 points and 6 steals in the win. Ivan Almeida paced Nahariya with 20 points and Diamon Simpson had 15 points in the defeat.

Hapoel Tel Aviv squeaked by Hapoel Beer Sheva 84-81 in the southern capital. Rami Hadar’s Beer Sheva used a huge 25-7 second quarter to take a 45-32 lead into halftime but the Ioannis Kastritis’s squad was able to make up the difference in the second half to snatch the win. Tel Aviv featured 10 players in double digits with Tomer Ginat (16 points), Talib Zanna (15 points) and Sek Henry 10 points leading the way. Caleb Agada recorded a double double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Evan Bruinsma added 18 points and Benny Eisenhardt had 10 points in the loss.

Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion pounded Hapoel Holon 93-74 and won for the first time since the resumption of league play after the coronavirus break. Guy Goodes’s squad got off to a flying start as Oz Blayzer and Noam Dovrat paced the wine city team to a 31-22 lead after ten minutes and never looked back as they cruised to the 19-point win. Blayzer scored 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, D’Angelo Harrison added 17 points and Noam Dovrat chipped in with 15 points. Shlomi Harush led Holon with 13 points and Shavon Coleman scored 12 points in the loss.