Maccabi Haifa Heat is in the Final Four

History in Green: the team from the Carmel beat Bnei HaSharon by 68:87 and rose to the status of the four big ones of Israeli Basketball for the first time.
Date: 04/05/2009 | Publisher: Maccabi Heat Haifa - Official Site




Maccabi Haifa is in the Final Four ; Galil and Holon are off to a Fifth Game

History in Green: the team from the Carmel beat Bnei HaSharon by 68:87 and rose to the status of the four big ones of Israeli Basketball for the first time.


ynet


Last updated: May 10, 2009

Maccabi Haifa is back – and it’s final.
The incredible comeback journey of the Greens to the top of the Israeli Basketball was completed tonight (Sunday), when they rose, for the first time, to the status of the four big ones of the Premiere League.
The team from the Carmel beat Bnei HaSharon outside with 68:87 and completed a 1:3

Maccabi Haifa celebrates victory on the Playoff Quarter Finals Series.
Next Tuesday, it will be

playing against HaPoel Jerusalem on the Final Four.


And what about HaPoel Holon and Gilboa/Galil?
These two just refuse separating.
This time it was Oded Katash and his protégés’ turn to win, not to mention with style – 55:77 in Gan Ner, comparing 2:2 on the series and coercing a fifth determining, hot and loaded game on Thursday in the Garbage Arena.

Bnei HaSharon – Maccabi Haifa 87:68 (3:1 in the series)

Bnei HaSharon worked well on defense and rose to 4:8 (3) and 8:13 (6), but Gur Porat balanced to 13:13 with a three-pointer, and the first quarter ended with a minimal 18:19 to the hosts.
The second quarter opened with a first lead for Haifa, who ran on 1:8 and raised to 20:26.
Ira Newble kept Bnei HaSharon in the picture and got them back to 33:32, reaching halftime with only 37:36.

Moshe Mizrahi managed to raise the score to a 40:46 to Haifa before Newble turned it over to a local 49:51.
Brooks Sales found perfect timing to cut a two months drought of no three-pointers, and the Greens end the third quarter with 52:54 to them.


Haifa’s dominance continued throughout the fourth quarter with the continuance of the excellent ability of Devon Jefferson and of Doron Perkins on the way to a double digit lead, 57:67.
When Jefferson set 61:73 even the quiet crowd of Metrowest accepted the fact that their team ended its season.
Haifa had a little fun on the way to a 68:87 win and to the first Final Four of its history.


HaSharon: Newble 19 (9 rebounds), Tapiro 12, Cisse and Belcher 11 each, James 8, Yitzhaki 3, Katz and Rice 2 each.

Scored for Maccabi Haifa: Jefferson 23 (8 rebounds), Sales 19, Perkins 17, Kozikaro and Mizrahi 8 each, Porat 5, Ben David 4.