National League Round 18: No surprise as #1 H.Afula defeat M.Ramat Gan

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

National League top team - H.Afula (14-4) managed to deliver another win on Tuesday. This time they beat eighth ranked M.Ramat Gan (9-9) 74-63. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of M.Ramat Gan. 24 personal fouls committed by M.Ramat Gan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Naturalized Argentinian swingman Lucas Goldenberg (190-1993) scored 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and American Jimmy Hall (203-1994, college: Kent St.) chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was guard Harel Dadon (193-1998) with 24 points and 8 rebounds. H.Afula have a solid four-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 14-4 record. M.Ramat Gan at the other side keeps the eighth place with nine games lost. H.Afula are looking forward to face bottom-ranked H.Hevel Modi'in (#14) at home in the next round which should be an easy win for them. M.Ramat Gan will play against M.Rehovot (#11) and is hoping to prove to their fans that the loss was just an accident.
An interesting game took place in Raanana where higher ranked M.Raanana (11-7) was upset on its own court by twelfth ranked E.Shomron (6-12) 98-88. Gal Sterenberg (202-1999) notched 20 points and 5 rebounds to lead the effort and Dachon Burke supported him with 24 points and 4 steals (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Even a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds by naturalized American Willy Workman (198-1990, college: Amherst) did not help to save the game for M.Raanana. M.Raanana's coach Nir Kaplan rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Newly promoted E.Shomron maintains twelfth position with 6-12 record. M.Raanana at the other side keeps the fifth place with seven games lost. They share the position with I.Nahariya and M.Ma'ale Adum.. E.Shomron will play against higher ranked M.Haifa (#9) at home in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. M.Raanana will play against Maccabi Rishon (#3) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
11th ranked M.Rehovot (7-11) was outscored at home by fourth ranked Maccabi Rishon (12-6) with the biggest margin this round 89-73 on Tuesday night. The best player for the winners was Guy Palatin who had a double-double by scoring 19 points, 10 assists and 4 steals. At the other side the best for losing team was Brent Jackson who recorded 23 points and 5 rebounds. Maccabi Rishon moved-up to third place. Newly promoted M.Rehovot keeps the eleventh position with 11 games lost. Maccabi Rishon will meet at home M.Raanana (#5) in the next round. M.Rehovot will play against M.Ramat Gan (#8) and hope to secure a win.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 18: M.Ma'ale Adum. won against H.Hevel Modi'in on the opponent's court 95-80. H.Ramat Gan unfortunately lost to E.Ashkelon in a home game 80-87. I.Nahariya managed to beat M.Haifa on the road 85-70.

H.Afula - M.Ramat Gan 74-63

National League top team - H.Afula (14-4) managed to deliver another win on Tuesday. This time they beat eighth ranked M.Ramat Gan (9-9) 74-63. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of M.Ramat Gan. 24 personal fouls committed by M.Ramat Gan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Naturalized Argentinian swingman Lucas Goldenberg (190-1993) scored 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and American Jimmy Hall (203-1994, college: Kent St.) chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds during the contest. Four H.Afula players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was guard Harel Dadon (193-1998) with 24 points and 8 rebounds and American guard Kevin Capers (188-1993, college: FSC, agency: BIG) scored 24 points. H.Afula have a solid four-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 14-4 record. M.Ramat Gan at the other side keeps the eighth place with nine games lost. H.Afula are looking forward to face bottom-ranked H.Hevel Modi'in (#14) at home in the next round which should be an easy win for them. M.Ramat Gan will play against M.Rehovot (#11) and is hoping to prove to their fans that the loss was just an accident.
Top scorers:
M.Ramat Gan: K.Capers 24+2reb+1ast, H.Dadon 24+8reb+2ast, D.Treadwell 6+9reb+3ast, D.Rosenbaum 5+7reb+1ast, E.Hirsh 3+3reb+1ast, B.Altit 1+4reb
H.Afula: T.Fitzpatrick 16+7reb+1ast, L.Goldenberg 15+7reb+4ast, R.Netzia 13+3reb, J.Hall 11+12reb+1ast, T.Asayag 9+6reb+8ast, A.Dor 5+1reb

H.Hevel Modi'in - M.Ma'ale Adum. 80-95

Very expected game when 14th ranked H.Hevel Modi'in (2-17) was defeated at home by sixth ranked M.Ma'ale Adum. (11-7) 95-80 on Tuesday. M.Ma'ale Adum. dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to H.Hevel Modi'in's 32. M.Ma'ale Adum. looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Canadian center Eddie Ekiyor (206-1997, college: Carleton) who had a double-double by scoring 26 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. American forward Duane Johnson (201-1991, college: ESU) chipped in a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds. M.Ma'ale Adum.'s coach used an eleven-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Keron DeShields (190-1992, college: Tennessee St.) who recorded 25 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and Shmuel Malkov (193-1994, agency: Avi Zilberman) added 22 points and 8 rebounds respectively. M.Ma'ale Adum. moved-up to fifth place, which they share with I.Nahariya and M.Raanana. Loser H.Hevel Modi'in stay at the bottom position with 17 games lost. M.Ma'ale Adum. will meet league's second-placed E.Ashkelon on the road in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. H.Hevel Modi'in will play against the league's leader H.Afula (#1) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
H.Hevel Modi'in: K.DeShields 25+9reb+6ast, S.Malkov 22+8reb+3ast, M.Holyfield 17+12reb+1ast, G.Shoham 7+3reb+3ast, E.Mor-Yosef 5+2reb+1ast, S.Omer 2
M.Ma'ale Adum.: E.Ekiyor 26+14reb+5ast, D.Johnson 20+11reb+1ast, S.Halpert 11+3reb+2ast, I.Shabat 9+7reb+7ast, H.Matan 8+1reb+4ast, I.Ben 5+2reb

H.Ramat Gan - E.Ashkelon 80-87

Very predictable result in Givataim where second ranked E.Ashkelon (13-5) defeated 13th ranked H.Ramat Gan (3-15) 87-80 on Tuesday. E.Ashkelon looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Dakarai Tucker (196-1994, college: Utah) who scored 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. The former international Raviv Pitshon (198-1989) chipped in 19 points and 6 rebounds. E.Ashkelon's coach Avi Sukar used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was American Storm Warren (211-1988, college: LSU) who recorded 28 points and 8 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Stedmon Lemon (198-1992, college: JCSU) added 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists respectively. Four H.Ramat Gan players scored in double figures. E.Ashkelon maintains second position with 13-5 record behind leader H.Afula. H.Ramat Gan lost third consecutive game. They keep the thirteenth place with 15 games lost. E.Ashkelon will meet at home M.Ma'ale Adum. (#7) in the next round where they are favorite. H.Ramat Gan will play against E.Netanya (#4) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
H.Ramat Gan: S.Warren 28+8reb, S.Lemon 23+6reb+4ast, T.Eliad 11+16reb+3ast, A.Harari 10+3reb+4ast, N.Gil 8+4reb+4ast, O.Roy 0
E.Ashkelon: R.Pitshon 19+6reb+1ast, D.Tucker 18+8reb+6ast, B.David Omer 14, C.Rosenberg 13+6reb+4ast, S.David 9+2reb+3ast, S.Harush 8+3reb+5ast

M.Haifa - I.Nahariya 70-85

Not a big story in a game when 9th ranked M.Haifa (8-10) was defeated at home by seventh ranked I.Nahariya (11-7) 85-70 on Tuesday. I.Nahariya outrebounded M.Haifa 38-25 including a 28-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by M.Haifa's players. The best player for the winners was American power forward Romello White (203-1998, college: Ole Miss) who had a double-double by scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. The former international point guard Yogev Ohayon (189-1987) chipped in 8 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was point guard Danel Kozahinof (177-2001) who recorded 17 points and 4 assists and American guard Admon Gilder (193-1995, college: Gonzaga) added 14 points respectively. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. I.Nahariya moved-up to fifth place, which they share with M.Raanana and M.Ma'ale Adum. Loser M.Haifa keeps the ninth position with ten games lost. They share it with Ramat Hash.. I.Nahariya will meet at home Ramat Hash. (#10) in the next round where they are favorite. M.Haifa will play against E.Shomron and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
M.Haifa: K.Danel 17+4reb+4ast, A.Gilder 14+4reb+1ast, S.Davis 11+3reb+1ast, D.Koperberg 8+4reb, O.Malka 7+1ast, R.Howell 6+6reb+1ast
I.Nahariya: D.Burnett 16+1reb+1ast, D.Drapic 14+4reb+2ast, R.White 14+11reb+5ast, I.Eisendorf 12+4reb+1ast, P.Omer 9+2reb+2ast, A.Chubrevich 9+8reb+1ast

M.Raanana - E.Shomron 88-98

An interesting game took place in Raanana where higher ranked M.Raanana (11-7) was upset on its own court by twelfth ranked E.Shomron (6-12) 98-88. E.Shomron shot the lights out from three nailing 17 long-distance shots on high 58.6 percentage. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. Gal Sterenberg (202-1999) notched 20 points and 5 rebounds to lead the effort and American guard Dachon Burke (193-1997, college: USA) supported him with 24 points and 4 steals (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Even a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds by naturalized American Willy Workman (198-1990, college: Amherst) did not help to save the game for M.Raanana. American forward Jalen Canty (203-1995, college: UCSB, agency: Haylett Sports) added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Four M.Raanana players scored in double figures. M.Raanana's coach Nir Kaplan rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Newly promoted E.Shomron maintains twelfth position with 6-12 record. M.Raanana at the other side keeps the fifth place with seven games lost. They share the position with I.Nahariya and M.Ma'ale Adum.. E.Shomron will play against higher ranked M.Haifa (#9) at home in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. M.Raanana will play against Maccabi Rishon (#3) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
M.Raanana: W.Workman 20+12reb+1ast, J.Canty 19+10reb+2ast, J.Siggers 14+2reb+4ast, A.Sapir 11+3reb+4ast, R.Geffen 9+2reb+8ast, M.Ziv 5+1ast
E.Shomron: D.Burke 24+3reb, S.Gal 20+5reb+3ast, E.Shulman 16+2reb+8ast, K.Stone 9+5reb+4ast, I.Flaisher 9+4reb, L.Yuval 7+4reb+2ast

M.Rehovot - M.Rishon 73-89

11th ranked M.Rehovot (7-11) was outscored at home by fourth ranked Maccabi Rishon (12-6) with the biggest margin this round 89-73 on Tuesday night. Maccabi Rishon made 22-of-27 free shots (81.5 percent) during the game. Maccabi Rishon outrebounded M.Rehovot 41-29 including 30 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was point guard Guy Palatin (192-2000) who had a double-double by scoring 19 points, 10 assists and 4 steals. Power forward Jonatan Mor (204-1995) chipped in a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was American swingman Brent Jackson (193-1994, college: Columbus St.) who recorded 23 points and 5 rebounds and his fellow American import forward AlLonzo Coleman (203-1989, college: Presbyterian) added 7 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists respectively. Maccabi Rishon moved-up to third place. Newly promoted M.Rehovot keeps the eleventh position with 11 games lost. Maccabi Rishon will meet at home M.Raanana (#5) in the next round. M.Rehovot will play against M.Ramat Gan (#8) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
M.Rehovot: B.Jackson 23+5reb+2ast, C.Smith 13+2reb, J.Freund 11+8reb+3ast, A.Coleman 7+9reb+11ast, Y.Holodov 7+2reb+2ast, G.Shay Guy 5+1reb+1ast
M.Rishon: J.Mor 21+10reb, G.Palatin 19+4reb+10ast, J.Evans 13+2reb+6ast, P.Tal-Or 11+1reb, I.Cousins 9+8reb+2ast, I.Nesterenko 8+1reb+1ast