If you’re a sports fan, nothing beats a decisive, win or go home game. Whether it’s a Game 5 or Game 7, there’s not much that can top that after a grueling series to head to a contest that’s for all of the marbles. The pressure and intensity mounts for both teams, the fans reach a crescendo and you usually get one unforgettable matchup that will go down in the annals of Israeli basketball which is exactly what we got in the Hapoel Holon and Bnei Herzliya quarterfinal series game 5.

The stage was set as each team had won two straight, Holon capturing the opening pair of games while Herzliya took games 3 and 4 to knot the series up at two wins a piece sending the series to a winner take all game 5 at the HaYovel Arena in Herzliya.

With Netanel Artzi out for the purples with a shoulder injury and with the return of Eitan Burg to Herzliya’s roster, it looked as if Yehu Orland’s team would be the favorite to advance to the semifinals and prepare for a best-of-3 date with Maccabi Tel Aviv. However, that was not the script that Guy Kaplan had written prior to tipoff.

Holon went right after Herzliya on the road and got in the first punch as they grabbed a double digit lead fairly quickly and easily thanks to Iftach Ziv, Idan Zalmanson and Justin Alston, leaving Orland grasping at straws early and often. Elijah Stewart was stymied by Mike Davis, who instead of shooting lights out from deep played airtight defense on one of the most lethal and dangerous scorers in the league. In fact, Stewart was unable to make an impact for the most part of the first half and only scored his first field goal with 2:54 left in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Herzliya was still able to begin chipping away at the lead as John Meeks, Shalev Lugashi and Stewart, who finally started scoring, were able to close the gap to just a couple of points by halftime. For the balance of the game, the two teams went back and forth like a see saw as the same principles led their respective sides with Meeks putting the hosts up late, but Ziv hitting the eventual game winner soon thereafter to close out a classic clash.

Sure, there were a number of miscues along the way, including a major faux pas on Markel Johnson’s inbounds pass with under 3 seconds remaining, but big time players make big time shots and big time plays when their backs are against the wall.

Iftach Ziv, who was named MVP had a series for the ages as he led Holon to victory and had some of those big time shots and big time plays, “This is an incredible moment for us but the truth is that we had a difficult season. I played well here because my teammates helped me play well. We all did an amazing job and we understood the magnitude of the situation. We showed a lot of character in Game 5, which we could all feel had been lacking this season. Having the club play in the Final Four in a season like this one is not a given. I am very happy.”

Idan Zalmanson who had just returned from injury in game four made his presence felt in the two games he played and after coming up short in is first contest back, he made sure that there wouldn’t be a repeat performance in game five.

“Prior to the season, we set ourselves a number of goals. We wanted to finish in fourth place in the league standings and it didn’t work out, we didn’t manage to reach the semi-finals of the Israel State Cup and we didn’t advance to the Round of 16 in Europe, all in all, we suffered a lot of blows this season.”

“Not everyone knows what we’re going through,” the big man continued. “We’re injured, sore, but we did it. I told the guys before the game that it wasn’t going to be easy and it wasn’t going to go smoothly, but I promised them that we would win this game. I told them it would be sweeter and it is much sweeter. I’m proud of everyone and very happy but we’re not done yet.”

Up next is Maccabi Tel Aviv which will be no simple feat for Holon as they will need to find a way to win two games against the reining champions.

“We need to gain confidence from the game we recently had against Maccabi Tel Aviv,” Head Coach Guy Kaplan said. “We were very competitive and we were close to winning so we need to take a look at what we did there although we now have a different lineup. We want to end the season well.”

Kaplan continued, “The first game is in quite a while, and you can look at it and say that we are in playing condition, but on the other hand they saw us play five games, so all of our cards are out on the table. Every series has its own dynamics and there are different matchups in this one. We will have to reinvent ourselves.”

Zalmanson also shared his thoughts about the upcoming semifinal series, “Maccabi is a very deep team and the balance of power is clear, but even when the odds are against us, we’ll come in and prepare properly. We’ll arrive at this series ready to go we won’t settle for what we’ve done so far. We’ll be there to give our maximum, let’s hope that’s enough for us.”

Iftach Ziv played for Maccabi just a few seasons ago and will not be looking for revenge but to play as best as he can along with the team to try and advance to the finals.

“I am not a vengeful person,” the guard said. “The first goal was to reach the semifinals. The goal for me now is to get through the semifinals. We will come to the series as prepared as possible. We are not favorites but we hope that we will bring the spirit of Holon.”