Heat keep getting hotter

By Ron Kaplan | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • Live
  • MySpace
  • NewsVine
  • Ping.fm
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Print this article!
  • E-mail this story to a friend!

Maccabi Haifa Heat earn epic Final Four win in OT over Hapoel Jerusalem

The Maccabi Haifa Heat won a historic semi-final game against the second seed Hapoel Jerusalem, 98-93, in overtime on Tuesday at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv to advance to the Finals.  The Haifa Heat led for the first three quarters with strong defense and great three-point shooting by Haifa’s role players Moshe Mizrahi and Gur Porat.   However, in the fourth quarter Hapoel Jerusalem went on a stunning 23-0 run to take an 8-point lead, 74-68, with 4:19 left in regulation.

The Haifa Heat battled back by playing relentless defense and hitting clutch free throws down the stretch.   Haifa trailed, 84-82, before Haifa’s Malik Dixon hit a tough layup to tie the score at 84-84 with 10.3 seconds left in the game.   Haifa had a chance to win the game when Haifa’s All-Premier League First Team Guard, Doron Perkins, stole the ball from Jerusalem’s Timmy Bowers, but missed a last second layup forcing overtime.

Haifa had the momentum in overtime as they maintained the lead the entire quarter, earning a thrilling 98-93 victory.  The Haifa Heat’s Davon Jefferson, who starred at USC last season, scored a game-high 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and was 11-for-12 from the free throw line.   Perkins, who played at Santa Clara University, nearly had a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

Haifa will face the 47-time League Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Finals at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv on Thursday, May 21.  The first seed Maccabi Tel Aviv won its semi-final game in close fashion, 72-70, against Galil Gilboa in the later game on Tuesday.  The Finals will be broadcast live online on Triangleinternet.tv at 1:50 PM ET.   Maccabi Haifa was one of the original eight teams to form the Premier League in 1954 and is still vying for its first national championship in the club’s history.

The Haifa Heat were purchased by Triangle Sports Chairman and New Jersey native, Jeffrey Rosen, in July of 2007.  Under second-year owner Mr. Rosen, the team earned a promotion to the Premier League (Israel’s top division) this season and is now competing for a national championship.

Tags:
Topics: Israeli sports, Jews and basketball

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>