Nes Ziona got by Hapoel Beer Sheva 83-74 and snatched the 8th and final playoff spot as they will now face Maccabi Tel Aviv in a best-of-5 quarterfinal series. Amit Sherf’s team came out strong as Bryce Brown filled the basket early while Iverson Molinar countered for Rami Hadar’s club but poor shooting by the visitors coupled with points from Ricky Lindo in the second half kept the hosts in front as they took the win.

Lindo scored 25 points, Brown added 21 points and Tzuf Ben Moshe scored 12 points in the victory while Molinar scored 25 points and Marcus Santos Silva put in 13 points in the loss.

Nes Ziona Head Coach Amit Sherf “Wow! It was one of our best games for three quarters and we really played well defensively. All seven players left it all on the court and we wanted to play fast with Lindo at the center position. We showed a lot of heart throughout and then after thirty minutes we began to fall into the pressure that Beer Sheva put on us. But we brought on Jerome Meyinsse who was able to make some key baskets to help us to the win.”

“It wasn’t one of our best games in terms of basketball but it was one where we really showed effort. I had a good time with this group of guys but Nes Ziona was the better team in this game,” Hapoel Beer Sheva Head Coach Rami Hadar commented.

The game MVP Ricky Lindo spoke about the keys to the victory, “We were focussed defensively and tried to close down Iverson Molinar and Justin McKoy who we held to lower than his average. We hit our free throws down the stretch and that helped us close out the win.”

Iverson Molinar spoke about the game that was, “It was a well fought game and both sides battled. Nes Ziona really wanted the last playoff spot and play Maccabi but we came up short. I’m very proud of the team throughout the ups and downs and I really wish we would gave had coach Rami from the start of the season and it was a learning experience.”

Bryce Brown scored early for Nes Ziona while Iverson Molinar, Cody Demps and Spencer Weisz filled the basket, but points from Ricky Lindo and Tzuf Ben Moshe along with a deuce from Jerome Meyinsse gave the hosts a 43-35 advantage at halftime. Lindo scored on the inside and outside to start the second half, Brown drained a pair from deep, Marcus Santos Silva responded, Yoav Vitlem added a pair of baskets and Molinar scored to keep the game close but Lindo iced the game to send Nes Ziona to the playoffs.