For Oded Katash, changing teams didn't change his luck. The former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach now returned to his old love Hapoel Galil Elyon, was unceremoniously routed by Bnei Hasharon on his latest debut, 84-63. Bnei Hasharon thoroughly dominated the match from wire to wire, revealing just how tough the rebuilding job will be.
"I got very excited before the game, but with the opening whistle it all passed," Katash said after the game. "Galil makes me feel at home, and I hope that with the fans, we'll get out of this bad stage. It's hard to make major changes within a few days, especially when you're facing a well-trained club like Bnei Hasharon."
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Bnei Hasharon coach Effi Birnbaum conceded his team "took advantage" of Galil's woes, including the fact its big scorer, Gil Mosinzon, was on the bench. "Oded's returned," he added, and "there's no doubt he'll affect the team and move it forward."
In Nahariya, Hapoel Holon trailed for most of the game, but free throws made the difference allowing the visitors to catch up. Both teams took 27 shots from the charity stripe, but Holon outshot Nahariya 21-14. John Gilchrist put Nahariya up 74-68 on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes to go, but the team collapsed thereafter, including two missed free throws by Otis Hil when the team was down 75-74 with the game on the line in the final seconds.
Nahariya's collapse was not as dramatic, though, as Ramat Gan's, which enjoyed a comfortable double digit lead in the first half. However, the guests from Afula had different plans. Down 51-36 at the half, Afula clawed its way back into the game.
"You're too soft and need to be aggressive," coach Avner Yaor shouted at his players during halftime. Afula's defense did clamp down, forcing Ramat Gan to suffer through a nine-minute scoring drought in the third quarter. In the final two minutes, baskets by Tunji Awojobi brought Afula within one point at 72-71, the last one coming with 50 seconds to go.
With 17 seconds remaining Ramat Gan coach Robby Belinko advised his players not to foul Afula, but his players gave too much space behind the arc to Amit Ben David, who swished a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to seal his team's second victory in a row.
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