National League Round 16: E.Ashkelon lose to Maccabi Haifa

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round 16 most important game was a defeat of league's leader E.Ashkelon (11-5). They were defeated by eighth ranked M.Haifa (8-8) 85-69 on Tuesday night. Worth to mention a great performance of Ofek Malka (181-2000) who helped to win the game recording 26 points and 4 assists (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and the former international power forward Richard Howell (203-1990, college: NC State) who added 16 points and 7 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side American forward Dakarai Tucker (196-1994, college: Utah) responded with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. M.Haifa maintains eighth position with 8-8 record, which they share with M.Ramat Gan. E.Ashkelon at the other side dropped to the second place with five games lost. They share the position with M.Rishon. They were replaced at the leadership position by H.Afula. E.Ashkelon will play next round against Ramat Hash. trying to make it back to the top of the standings. M.Haifa will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked E.Netanya on the road.
The game had a very big importance for second-ranked H.Afula as it allowed them to take a leadership position. H.Afula defeated 12th ranked E.Shomron at home 76-68. The winners were led by guard Tomer Asayag (190-1999) who scored that evening 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and Jimmy Hall supported him with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Even 17 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals by American guard Dachon Burke (193-1997, college: USA) did not help to save the game for E.Shomron. As mentioned above they took over a top position. Newly promoted E.Shomron keeps the twelfth place with 11 games lost. E.Shomron will play next round against M.Rehovot trying to get back on the winning streak. H.Afula will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Maccabi Rishon at Rishon Le-Zion.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Maccabi Rishon (11-5) against ninth ranked M.Ramat Gan (8-8) on Tuesday night. Visiting Maccabi Rishon was crushed by M.Ramat Gan in Ramat Gan 94-69. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Maccabi Rishon. Elijah Hirsh fired a double-double by scoring 30 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Jawun Evans produced 19 points and 7 assists for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. M.Ramat Gan moved-up to eighth place, which they share with M.Haifa. Loser Maccabi Rishon dropped to the second position with five games lost. They share it with E.Ashkelon. M.Ramat Gan will meet at home bottom-ranked H.Hevel Modi'in (#14) in the next round where they are favorite. Maccabi Rishon will play against the league's leader H.Afula (#1) having rather not much hope for a victory.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 16: H.Ramat Gan lost to H.Hevel Modi'in on the opponent's court 79-96. M.Raanana unfortunately lost to E.Netanya in a home game 65-77. M.Ma'ale Adum. recorded a loss to Ramat Hash. on the road 93-98. M.Rehovot was defeated by I.Nahariya on its own court 81-84.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 26 points and 12 rebounds by Brent Jackson of M.Rehovot.

H.Afula - E.Shomron 76-68

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked H.Afula as it allowed them to take a leadership position. H.Afula defeated 12th ranked E.Shomron at home 76-68. H.Afula dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to E.Shomron's 28. H.Afula forced 20 E.Shomron turnovers and outrebounded them 41-25 including 31 on the defensive glass. The winners were led by guard Tomer Asayag (190-1999) who scored that evening 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and American Jimmy Hall (203-1994, college: Kent St.) supported him with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Even 17 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals by American guard Dachon Burke (193-1997, college: USA) did not help to save the game for E.Shomron. His fellow American import forward Keith Stone (206-1997, college: Miami, FL) added 19 points and 5 steals for lost side. Four E.Shomron players scored in double figures. As mentioned above they took over a top position. Newly promoted E.Shomron keeps the twelfth place with 11 games lost. E.Shomron will play next round against M.Rehovot trying to get back on the winning streak. H.Afula will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Maccabi Rishon at Rishon Le-Zion.
Top scorers:
E.Shomron: K.Stone 19+4reb+1ast, D.Burke 17+5reb+7ast, E.Shulman 11+3reb+3ast, S.Gal 10+8reb+1ast, A.Amit 7+1reb+5ast, O.Yoav 2
H.Afula: T.Asayag 16+8reb+8ast, J.Hall 16+7reb+2ast, T.Fitzpatrick 11+6reb, A.Dor 9+1reb+1ast, L.Goldenberg 7+8reb+4ast, T.Spector 6+2reb

H.Hevel Modi'in - H.Ramat Gan 96-79

We cannot really consider it an upset in the game between close teams when 13th ranked H.Ramat Gan (3-13) was defeated on the road by bottom-ranked H.Hevel Modi'in (2-15) 96-79 on Tuesday. H.Hevel Modi'in looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Shmuel Malkov (193-1994, agency: Avi Zilberman) fired 29 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals for the winners. American center Michael Holyfield (211-1992, college: SHSU) chipped in a double-double by scoring 19 points and 19 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). American Storm Warren (211-1988, college: LSU) produced a double-double by scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Stedmon Lemon (198-1992, college: JCSU) added 18 points respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. H.Ramat Gan's coach Amit Tamir rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. H.Hevel Modi'in maintains fourteenth position with 2-15 record. Loser H.Ramat Gan keeps the thirteenth place with 13 games lost. H.Hevel Modi'in will meet higher ranked M.Ramat Gan (#9) on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. H.Ramat Gan will play against M.Ma'ale Adum. (#7) in Ma'ale Adumim and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
H.Ramat Gan: S.Lemon 18+3reb+3ast, N.Gil 14+1reb+6ast, S.Warren 14+11reb+3ast, A.Shimoni 13+4reb+1ast, N.Uzan 8+1reb+3ast, A.Harari 6+4reb+1ast
H.Hevel Modi'in: S.Malkov 29+5reb+6ast, K.DeShields 24+4reb+7ast, M.Holyfield 19+19reb, T.Efi 11+6reb+1ast, G.Shoham 5+2reb+5ast, E.Mor-Yosef 4+1reb+2ast

M.Haifa - E.Ashkelon 85-69

Round 16 most important game was a defeat of league's leader E.Ashkelon (11-5). They were defeated by eighth ranked M.Haifa (8-8) 85-69 on Tuesday night. Worth to mention a great performance of Ofek Malka (181-2000) who helped to win the game recording 26 points and 4 assists (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and the former international power forward Richard Howell (203-1990, college: NC State) who added 16 points and 7 rebounds during the contest. Four M.Haifa players scored in double figures. At the losing side American forward Dakarai Tucker (196-1994, college: Utah) responded with 22 points and 8 rebounds and the former international Raviv Pitshon (198-1989) scored 10 points and 8 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. M.Haifa maintains eighth position with 8-8 record, which they share with M.Ramat Gan. E.Ashkelon at the other side dropped to the second place with five games lost. They share the position with M.Rishon. They were replaced at the leadership position by H.Afula. E.Ashkelon will play next round against Ramat Hash. trying to make it back to the top of the standings. M.Haifa will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked E.Netanya on the road.
Top scorers:
E.Ashkelon: D.Tucker 22+8reb+1ast, R.Pitshon 10+8reb, G.Chen 10+4reb+1ast, B.Yanir 8, S.David 6+4reb+4ast, B.David Omer 4+2reb+3ast
M.Haifa: O.Malka 26+2reb+4ast, R.Howell 16+7reb+1ast, D.Koperberg 16+7reb+1ast, S.Davis 12+9reb+1ast, A.Shoutvin 5+1reb, K.Danel 4+3reb+2ast

M.Raanana - E.Netanya 65-77

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams when fifth ranked E.Netanya (11-6) defeated on the road one of their biggest challengers M.Raanana (10-6) 77-65 on Tuesday. E.Netanya made 22-of-24 free shots (91.7 percent) during the game. Guard Ethan Butler (190-2002) fired 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. American-Nigerian Al-Wajid Aminu (201-1998, college: UNF) chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds. Four E.Netanya players scored in double figures. Forward Alon Sapir (201-1994) produced 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and American swingman Jason Siggers (194-1985, college: Albany, agency: Avi Zilberman) added 15 points (made all of his nine free throws !!!) respectively for lost side. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. E.Netanya moved-up to fourth place. Loser M.Raanana dropped to the fifth position with six games lost. They share it with I.Nahariya. E.Netanya will meet at home M.Haifa (#8) in the next round. M.Raanana will play against I.Nahariya and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
M.Raanana: J.Siggers 15+4reb+2ast, A.Sapir 14+5reb+4ast, W.Workman 11+8reb, A.Leder 8+1reb+1ast, J.Canty 8+12reb, J.Lewis 6+5reb
E.Netanya: S.Ben 17+1reb+1ast, E.Butler 12+8reb+6ast, A.Aminu 12+7reb+1ast, I.Ariel 12+1reb, D.Sahar 9+6reb+2ast, P.Yahel 8+2reb+2ast

M.Ramat Gan - M.Rishon 94-69

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Maccabi Rishon (11-5) against ninth ranked M.Ramat Gan (8-8) on Tuesday night. Visiting Maccabi Rishon was crushed by M.Ramat Gan in Ramat Gan 94-69. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Maccabi Rishon. M.Ramat Gan made 20-of-25 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Maccabi Rishon 52-31 including a 37-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. M.Ramat Gan looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Naturalized American forward Elijah Hirsh (203-1997, college: Berry) fired a double-double by scoring 30 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Guard Harel Dadon (193-1998) chipped in 22 points and 7 rebounds. Four M.Ramat Gan players scored in double figures. American point guard Jawun Evans (185-1996, college: OK State) produced 19 points and 7 assists and Tal-Or Peled (194-2002) added 13 points respectively for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. M.Ramat Gan moved-up to eighth place, which they share with M.Haifa. Loser Maccabi Rishon dropped to the second position with five games lost. They share it with E.Ashkelon. M.Ramat Gan will meet at home bottom-ranked H.Hevel Modi'in (#14) in the next round where they are favorite. Maccabi Rishon will play against the league's leader H.Afula (#1) having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
M.Rishon: J.Evans 19+4reb+7ast, P.Tal-Or 13+4reb+1ast, J.Mor 10+2reb+1ast, H.Halfon 9+4reb+1ast, I.Nesterenko 8+9reb, O.Yogev 6
M.Ramat Gan: E.Hirsh 30+11reb+3ast, H.Dadon 22+7reb+1ast, K.Capers 10+7reb+6ast, D.Treadwell 10+11reb+2ast, D.Rosenbaum 8+6reb, B.Yoav 5+3reb+1ast

Ramat Hash. - M.Ma'ale Adum. 98-93

There was an upset in Ramat Hasharon where higher ranked M.Ma'ale Adum. (9-7) was defeated by tenth ranked Ramat Hash. (7-9) 98-93 on Tuesday. Ramat Hash. looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American Tyler Wideman (203-1995, college: Butler) fired a double-double by scoring 31 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. The other American import point guard Diante Watkins (175-1990, college: RMU) chipped in 29 points and 4 assists. Canadian center Eddie Ekiyor (206-1997, college: Carleton) produced a double-double by scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists and swingman Ben Maman (195-2003) added 20 points (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. M.Ma'ale Adum.'s coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Ramat Hash. maintains tenth position with 7-9 record. Loser M.Ma'ale Adum. dropped to the seventh place with seven games lost. Ramat Hash. will meet league's second-placed E.Ashkelon on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. M.Ma'ale Adum. will play against H.Ramat Gan (#13) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
M.Ma'ale Adum.: E.Ekiyor 23+10reb+9ast, M.Ben 20+2reb, A.Derhy 15+3reb+3ast, S.Halpert 13+5reb+1ast, A.Noam 7+2reb, H.Matan 5+1reb+2ast
Ramat Hash.: T.Wideman 31+10reb+3ast, D.Watkins 29+3reb+4ast, A.Ebo 17+5reb+8ast, A.Bier-Katz 10+4reb, O.Hai 6+4reb, G.Ferber 4+4reb+2ast

M.Rehovot - I.Nahariya 81-84

Everything went according to plan when seventh ranked I.Nahariya (10-6) edged on the road 11th ranked M.Rehovot (6-10) 84-81 on Tuesday. I.Nahariya looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The former international point guard Yogev Ohayon (189-1987) fired 14 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners. Naturalized American forward Isaiah Eisendorf (198-1996, college: LeMoyne) chipped in 19 points and 5 rebounds. Four I.Nahariya players scored in double figures. American swingman Brent Jackson (193-1994, college: Columbus St.) produced a double-double by scoring 26 points and 12 rebounds and his fellow American import forward AlLonzo Coleman (203-1989, college: Presbyterian) added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists respectively for lost side. I.Nahariya moved-up to fifth place, which they share with M.Raanana. M.Rehovot lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the eleventh position with ten games lost. I.Nahariya will meet at home M.Raanana (#5) in the next round. M.Rehovot will play against E.Shomron (#12) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
M.Rehovot: B.Jackson 26+12reb+2ast, J.Freund 18+9reb, A.Coleman 16+7reb+8ast, G.Shay Guy 6+6reb+4ast, I.Rejwan 5+1reb, G.Halamish 5+2reb+2ast
I.Nahariya: I.Eisendorf 19+5reb+3ast, Y.Ohayon 14+6reb+8ast, D.Drapic 13+4reb+2ast, R.White 12+9reb+2ast, A.Chubrevich 8+10reb, O.Tal 7+2ast