Playoffs Round 1
By Orli Klinger
The finalists are now set. Ramat Hasharon will face Ramla in the finals
after they held off an inspiring Ramat Hen comeback to win game 5 of
this
classical playoff series.
Maccabi Ramat Hen 78 – YES Ramat Hasharon 80
We couldn’t have asked for a more dramatic ending to this wonderful
series.
With 2:15 to go in the game, Ramat Hasharon, who dominated through out
the
game, held a 74-60 lead. Ramat Hen, who looked lost, was beginning to
make
some comeback noises. Actually, scratch noises, it was more like sonic
booms. The locals’ last basket was somewhere in the 4th minute of the
quarter, but in the next 95 seconds they made an absolutely incredible
18-3
run.
Vicky Hall with two threes, Kovac with one, Grinboym with 5 points and
Raguz
with a jumper and steals brought Ramat Hen all the way back from the
dead,
and Simone Edwards sank two free throws to give her team a 78-77 lead
with
51 seconds to go. Rhonda Mapp hit two FTs to give the defending champs
an
80-78 lead, and Ramat Hen’s last possession reflected the frustration
from
the first 38 minutes of the game. A miss by Lena Fedoulova sent the red
camp
to mid court and the Ramat Hen people to discuss the ultimate heart
break
question – what hurts more, losing by 2 or by 20.
The game started out close. A fast break basket by Tamar Maoz gave the
visitors their first lead at 9-8, but Monika Kovac with a 3 and Rivi
Grinboym in a fast break gave it back to Ramat Hen. An assist from
Marianna
Raguz led to a Sivan Balalis 3 and Edwards’ first points made it 17-11,
but
Ramat Hasharon came back strong from a timeout and trailed only 18-17
after
1.
Ramat Hen continued to lead early in the 2nd, but you could just feel
the
thick tension in the air. A steal by Limor Mizrachi and an assist to
Gulsah
Akkaya who played very well tilted the scales in Ramat Hasharon’s
direction.
They went up 27-26 five minutes before halftime, and held the lead
until the
final minute. A 3 by Mizrachi and a basket by Lidiya Varbanova made it
32-26, but Ramat Hen were only down 35-36 at the break.
Ramat Hasharon did a great job defending Hall and Edwards in the first
half
holding them to 12 points, and the trend continued. Things got worse
for
Ramat Hen, who called a timeout down 45-38 following a Mizrachi 3 pt
play.
Ramat Hasharon took away their inside game, and the offense was stuck.
A 3
by Ina Gourevitch, who was quiet comparing to the previous 4 games,
made it
59-46, but Hall ended the quarter with a 3 to make it 59-49 after 3.
It was obvious that if Ramat Hen didn’t pull itself together and made a
quick run, their chances of winning would become very slim. And indeed,
Marianna Raguz scored 5 straight points to make it 61-54. Edwards
scored to
make it only 5 a minute later, and it looked like Ramat Hen was about
to
make a game out of it. But, points off an offensive rebound from Mapp
and a
back breaking buzzer beating Limor Mizrachi 3 pointer made it a 10
point
game again, with 7 minutes to play. Time continued to tick away and the
gap
remained intact. Gourevitch added another 3, Varbanova hit nothing but
net
from midrange and Ramat Hasharon opened a 72-60 lead. Ramat Hen didn’t
take
advantage of 3 offensive fouls called on Ramat Hasharon, and Mizrachi
made
it 74-60 from the line with 2:17 to go. Ramat Hen’s unbelievable 18-3
run in
1:35 swept them to a 78-77 lead, but it didn’t last long. Akkaya sealed
an
awful day at the FT stripe making one of two to tie the game. Ramat Hen
looked confused in their next possession, and Balalis missed a jumper.
The
refs didn’t notice an obvious 8-second violation on Mapp and gave Hall
her
5th foul. Mapp nailed them both, leaving Ramat Hen 12 seconds but they
again
couldn’t get a good shot up. Ramat Hasharon played with the heart of a
champion, broke all the statistics and is going back to the finals yet
again. Ramat Hen also deserves lots of compliments for an amazing
comeback,
a great season and thrilling playoffs.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Limor Mizrachi – 17 pts (1/4 2pt FGs, 3/6 3pt FGs, 6/7 FTs), 4 rebs, 3
assts, 3 TOs
Gulsah Akkaya – 17 pts (7/10 FGs, 3/8 FTs), 2 assts, 2 stls
Lidiya Varbanova –17 pts (7/10 FGs, ¾ FTs), 5 rebs, 2 stls
Rhonda Mapp – 12 pts (5/12 FGs, 2/2 FTs), 9 rebs, 3 assts, 4 TOs
(she'll
stay for the finals too)
Ina Gourevitch – 13 pts (2/6 2pt FGs, 3/3 3pt FGs), 6 rebs, 4 stls, 3
assts
For Ramat Hen:
Vicky Hall – 19 pts (4/12 2pt FGs, 3/3 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs), 3 rebs, 7
assts
Marianna Raguz – 17 pts (7/12 2pt FGs, 1/5 3pt FGs), 2 rebs
Rivi Grinboym – 16 pts (4/8 2pt FGs, 2/5 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs), 4 assts
Simone Edwards – 14 pts (6/12 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 11 rebs, 3 stls, 4 TOs
Monika Kovac- 10 pts (0/2 2pt FGs, 3/3 3pt FGs, 1/3 FTs), 4 assts, 4
TOs
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.