National League Round 10 (Regular Season): #1 E.Ashkelon is defeated by I.Nahariya

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked E.Ashkelon (8-2) on the court of fifth ranked I.Nahariya on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by I.Nahariya 86-81. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of E.Ashkelon. I.Nahariya forced 19 E.Ashkelon turnovers. Point guard Amit Reuven (182-1998) scored 22 points and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and naturalized American power forward Eli Abaev (203-1998, college: FGCU) chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds during the contest. I.Nahariya's coach David Elharar used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. At the losing side swingman Eliad Tal (198-2002) responded with 20 points and 8 rebounds. I.Nahariya (5-4) moved-up to fourth place, which they share with H.Gilboa Galil and E.Netanya. E.Ashkelon at the other side still keeps top position with two games lost. I.Nahariya is looking forward to face Ramat Hash. (#10) in Ramat Hasharon in the next round where they are favorite. E.Ashkelon will have a break next round.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Kfar Qasem. 4th ranked host H.Kfar Qasem (4-5) lost to third ranked M.Rehovot (7-2) 88-79. Naturalized American forward Josh Freund (204-1997, college: Roanoke) notched 26 points and 5 rebounds to lead the effort and Omer Ben David supported him with 17 points and 9 assists. M.Rehovot's coach Ohad Cohen allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Even 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists by naturalized Romanian Yaniv Solomon (200-1994) did not help to save the game for H.Kfar Qasem. M.Rehovot moved-up to second place, which they share with M.Raanana. H.Kfar Qasem lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team dropped to the seventh position with five games lost. They share it with M.Ma'ale Adum. and E.Shomron. M.Rehovot will play against H.Gilboa Galil (#6) in Gan Ner in the next round. H.Kfar Qasem will play on the road against M.Ma'ale Adum. in Ma'ale Adumim and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
A very close game took place in Safed between E.Netanya and H.Safed Galil. Fourth ranked E.Netanya (5-4) got a very close victory on the road over 12th ranked H.Safed Galil (3-7). E.Netanya managed to escape with a 3-point win 85-82 on Tuesday evening. Guest team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Omer Poleg fired 25 points and 8 assists for the winners. E.Netanya's coach Ruben Najberger used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. Daniel Koperberg produced a double-double by scoring 24 points and 20 rebounds for lost side. E.Netanya maintains fourth position with 5-4 record, which they share with H.Gilboa Galil and I.Nahariya. Newly promoted H.Safed Galil keeps the twelfth place with seven games lost. E.Netanya will meet at home league's second-placed M.Raanana in the next round and it may be the game of the week. H.Safed Galil will play against E.Shomron (#8) and hope to secure a win.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 10: M.Ma'ale Adum. won against M.Haifa on the opponent's court 82-72. M.Raanana managed to outperform M.Rishon in a home game 92-88. Ramat Hash. was rolled over H.Gilboa Galil on the road 94-71.



H.Safed Galil - E.Netanya 82-85

A very close game took place in Safed between E.Netanya and H.Safed Galil. Fourth ranked E.Netanya (5-4) got a very close victory on the road over 12th ranked H.Safed Galil (3-7). E.Netanya managed to escape with a 3-point win 85-82 on Tuesday evening. Guest team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. E.Netanya forced 26 H.Safed Galil turnovers. Guard Omer Poleg (185-1999) fired 25 points and 8 assists for the winners. Ariel Isaac (197-2003, agency: Avi Zilberman) chipped in 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. E.Netanya's coach Ruben Najberger used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. The former international power forward Daniel Koperberg (208-1997) produced a double-double by scoring 24 points and 20 rebounds and forward Ofek Ben-Yakov (200-1994, agency: BIG) added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. E.Netanya maintains fourth position with 5-4 record, which they share with H.Gilboa Galil and I.Nahariya. Newly promoted H.Safed Galil keeps the twelfth place with seven games lost. E.Netanya will meet at home league's second-placed M.Raanana in the next round and it may be the game of the week. H.Safed Galil will play against E.Shomron (#8) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
E.Netanya: I.Ariel 25+6reb+1ast, P.Omer 25+3reb+8ast, C.Ori 10+5reb+1ast, M.Alon 10+6reb+1ast, S.Imri 7+6reb+3ast, S.Ilay 5+8reb+3ast
H.Safed Galil: D.Koperberg 24+20reb+2ast, O.Reef 15+3reb+5ast, O.Ben-Yakov 14+7reb+4ast, Y.Michaeli 11+2reb+4ast, G.Itay 7+2reb+3ast, A.Niv 5+2reb

M.Haifa - M.Ma'ale Adum. 72-82

Rather expected game when 13th ranked M.Haifa (1-8) was defeated at home by tenth ranked M.Ma'ale Adum. (4-5) 82-72 on Tuesday. M.Ma'ale Adum. had a 30-19 advantage in offensive rebounds. Yanir Binyamin (188-2000, agency: BIG) fired 15 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Forward Ben Aken Matan (-1997) chipped in a double-double by scoring 12 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Four M.Ma'ale Adum. players scored in double figures. American forward Brandon Bowman (206-1984, college: Georgetown) produced 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists (made all of his ten free throws !!!) and point guard Amit Alon (180-2000) added 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for lost side. M.Haifa's coach Offer Rahimi rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. M.Ma'ale Adum. moved-up to seventh place, which they share with H.Kfar Qasem and E.Shomron. M.Haifa lost eighth consecutive game. They stay at the bottom position with eight games lost. M.Ma'ale Adum. will meet at home H.Kfar Qasem (#9) in the next round. M.Haifa will play against M.Rishon (#11) in Rishon Le-Zion and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
M.Ma'ale Adum.: N.Daniel 16+7reb+3ast, B.Yanir 15+5reb+7ast, N.Gil 14+6reb+3ast, B.Aken Matan 12+11reb+4ast, A.Roe 8+3reb+1ast, A.Anton 8+4reb
M.Haifa: B.Bowman 23+8reb+5ast, A.Amit 16+9reb+4ast, M.Amit 9+3reb+3ast, S.Eilon 8+2reb, C.Ron 6+4reb+5ast, D.Sharp 5+1ast

M.Raanana - M.Rishon 92-88

Very predictable result when second ranked M.Raanana (7-2) defeated at home 11th ranked M.Rishon (3-6) 92-88 on Friday. However just four-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Power forward Jonatan Mor (204-1995) fired a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Center Yonatan Atias (205-2001) chipped in 15 points and 9 rebounds. Five M.Raanana players scored in double figures. Point guard Danel Kozahinof (168-2001) produced 24 points and 5 rebounds and naturalized Ukrainian center Igor Nesterenko (203-1990) added 16 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. M.Raanana have an impressive five-game winning streak. They maintain second position with 7-2 record behind leader E.Ashkelon, which they share with M.Rehovot. Loser M.Rishon keeps the eleventh place with six games lost. M.Raanana will meet E.Netanya (#4) on the road in the next round. M.Rishon will play against M.Haifa (#13) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
M.Raanana: J.Mor 21+10reb, E.Alber 17+3reb+2ast, Y.Atias 15+9reb, D.Sahar 11+3reb+3ast, O.Hai 10+3reb+2ast, Y.Ohayon 10+4reb+9ast
M.Rishon: K.Danel 24+5reb+3ast, I.Nesterenko 16+5reb+1ast, L.Shalev 11+5reb, A.Derhy 10+1reb+1ast, I.Shabat 7+5reb+4ast, R.Pitshon 7+4reb+1ast

I.Nahariya - E.Ashkelon 86-81

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked E.Ashkelon (8-2) on the court of fifth ranked I.Nahariya on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by I.Nahariya 86-81. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of E.Ashkelon. I.Nahariya forced 19 E.Ashkelon turnovers. Point guard Amit Reuven (182-1998) scored 22 points and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and naturalized American power forward Eli Abaev (203-1998, college: FGCU) chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds during the contest. I.Nahariya's coach David Elharar used an eleven-player rotation in such tough game. At the losing side swingman Eliad Tal (198-2002) responded with 20 points and 8 rebounds and naturalized American guard Clarke Rosenberg (193-1993, college: Chicago St.) scored 18 points and 4 assists. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. I.Nahariya (5-4) moved-up to fourth place, which they share with H.Gilboa Galil and E.Netanya. E.Ashkelon at the other side still keeps top position with two games lost. I.Nahariya is looking forward to face Ramat Hash. (#10) in Ramat Hasharon in the next round where they are favorite. E.Ashkelon will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
I.Nahariya: A.Reuven 22+2reb+4ast, O.Tal 16+4reb+5ast, Y.Yam 13+2reb+2ast, D.Drapic 12+3reb+1ast, E.Abaev 10+13reb+3ast, A.Rozenfeld 6+1reb+1ast
E.Ashkelon: T.Eliad 20+8reb+3ast, C.Rosenberg 18+3reb+4ast, S.Amit 12+1reb+2ast, B.Eisenhardt 11+6reb+3ast, N.Tishman 10+6reb+5ast, R.Harel 6+4reb+1ast

H.Gilboa Galil - Ramat Hash. 94-71

Not a big story in a game in Gan Ner where 8th ranked Ramat Hash. (4-6) was rolled over by sixth ranked H.Gilboa Galil (5-4) 94-71 on Tuesday. H.Gilboa Galil forced 19 Ramat Hash. turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Point guard Daniel Gueta (188-2003) fired 28 points for the winners. Forward Roey Netzia (197-1997) chipped in a double-double by scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Four H.Gilboa Galil players scored in double figures. Ofek Malka (181-2000) produced 23 points and Hen Halfon (196-1996) added 16 points and 6 rebounds 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. H.Gilboa Galil moved-up to fourth place, which they share with I.Nahariya and E.Netanya. Loser Ramat Hash. dropped to the tenth position with six games lost. H.Gilboa Galil will meet higher ranked M.Rehovot (#3) on the road in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Ramat Hash. will play against I.Nahariya (#5) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
H.Gilboa Galil: G.Daniel 28+3reb+3ast, I.Davidi 19+3reb+4ast, R.Netzia 15+11reb+5ast, N.Baloul 10+8reb, S.Ofari 7+4reb+1ast, W.Ziv 6+6reb+7ast
Ramat Hash.: O.Malka 23+4reb+1ast, H.Halfon 16+6reb+3ast, A.Bier-Katz 10+6reb+1ast, G.Ofek 8+3reb+6ast, G.Rushkin 7+3reb, A.Guy 3

H.Kfar Qasem - M.Rehovot 79-88

The game between Top Four teams took place in Kfar Qasem. 4th ranked host H.Kfar Qasem (4-5) lost to third ranked M.Rehovot (7-2) 88-79. M.Rehovot players were unselfish on offense dishing 27 assists. Naturalized American forward Josh Freund (204-1997, college: Roanoke) notched 26 points and 5 rebounds to lead the effort and guard Omer Ben David (188-2001) supported him with 17 points and 9 assists. M.Rehovot's coach Ohad Cohen allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Even 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists by naturalized Romanian Yaniv Solomon (200-1994) did not help to save the game for H.Kfar Qasem. Guard Efi Tyomkin (190-2000, agency: BIG) added 19 points and 4 assists for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. M.Rehovot moved-up to second place, which they share with M.Raanana. H.Kfar Qasem lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team dropped to the seventh position with five games lost. They share it with M.Ma'ale Adum. and E.Shomron. M.Rehovot will play against H.Gilboa Galil (#6) in Gan Ner in the next round. H.Kfar Qasem will play on the road against M.Ma'ale Adum. in Ma'ale Adumim and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
M.Rehovot: J.Freund 26+5reb+3ast, B.David Omer 17+4reb+9ast, P.Tal-Or 13+4reb+3ast, S.David 12+6reb+6ast, R.Ido 6+3ast, H.Omer 6+3reb
H.Kfar Qasem: T.Efi 19+4reb+4ast, Y.Solomon 18+9reb+4ast, S.Harush 16+2reb+2ast, C.Bouchman 11+4reb+2ast, A.Sasson 9+2reb+7ast, R.Nitai 5+9reb