Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., November 22, 2008 Cheshvan 24, 5769 | | Israel Time: 17:49 (EST+7)
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Basketball / Slim win gives Mac. TA a place in final
By Arie Livnat

Maccabi Tel Aviv scraped by Bnei Hasharon yesterday 57-55, advancing to the Final Four finals where it will meet Hapoel Holon.

At one point it seemed like Maccabi was certain to lose: Chairman Shimon Mizrahi clutched a book of Pslams in his hand, coach Zvika Sherf looked hysterical, and scorer David Blumenthal was out of the game with five fouls. But the team in yellow came back from a double-digit disadvantage to beat their opponents, who failed to sink a shot in the final second of the match.
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The game started ominously for Hasharon, with its veteran guard and excellent shooter Meir Tapiro missing from the three-point range. Maccabi stormed ahead taking a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter, 22-9. Bnei Hasharon came back to life in the second quarter, thanks to the tireless Jason Williams, who racked up the points. By the end of the third quarter, Bnei Hasharon took the lead and left Maccabi in the dust, 50-44.

Again, it was a miss by Tapiro that set off a bad spell for his team, when Maccabi stormed back and took the lead in the fourth quarter. Both teams struggled for points, and their coaches called a number of timeouts that added to the drama.

In the last second of the game, Maccabi's Will Bynum scored from the free-throw line and put his team ahead while Bnei Hasharon squandered its opportunity to tie or win the game in the last frantic seconds.

Afterward, Maccabi's Yotam Halperin spoke about his team's matchup against Holon next week: "I think these two teams are the best in Israel besides us. And I have lots of respect for Bnei Hasharon."

Veteran guard Derrick Sharp was certain Maccabi will come out on top in next week's encounter.

"We'll be the champions," Sharp asserted confidently. "We got to focus and concentrate on defense, if we do that we'll win."
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