Finals Game 5
By Orli Klinger
The faith of an entire season came down to one game, which was a very
fitting ending for such an exciting season. Ramla’s arena was jam
packed,
and a lot of people could not get in. Ramla outplayed Ramat Hasharon
for the
larger parts of the series so far, and not many people gave Ramat
Hasharon
much of a chance to win game 5 on the home floor of their arched rivals
and
in front of a very heated crowd. Ramla was the #1 team in the league
from
the very first round of the season, and was under a lot of pressure.
But
Orna Ostfeld and Ramat Hasharon proved yet again that you must never,
ever,
underestimate the heart of a champion.
You can click here for pictures of the celebrating Ramat Hasharon camp,
taken
by Shlomi Peri.
Elizur Ramla 71 – Yes Ramat Hasharon 73
Ramat Hasharon won the championship without home court advantage in any
of
their playoff series. Until this season, no team in Israel has ever won
a
best-of-5 series after trailing 2-1. Ramat Hasharon did twice in a row.
In
the first 2 games at Ramla in the finals, Ramat Hasharon barely avoided
blowout losses, and in game 5 they led for 39 minutes. But it was far
from
easy. Ramla came back from 14 points down despite the fact both their
foreigners fouled out, as a lay-up by Natasha Branchikova tied the game
at
71 with 16.5 seconds to play. Ramat Hasharon had the last ball and
Mizrachi
found Gulsah Akkaya who had a great game and fought for every ball.
Akkaya
buried a 17 footer with 2.6 seconds on the clock. It was no fluke for
those
who remember how Akkaya came up big in game 5 against Ramat Hen. Liron
Cohen’s desperation half court 3 failed to complete Ramla’s amazing
all-Israeli comeback, and Ramat Hasharon began celebrating their 3rd
championship in a row, their 4th in 5 years and the toughest of them
all.
Getting into the arena was like crossing the red sea, but it was very
much
worth it. There was great atmosphere in the stands, and it felt like
Israeli
women’s basketball has moved up another notch this season with a
thrilling
playoff that exceeded all expectations.
Ramat Hasharon started out great for a change with 4 points from
Akkaya, a
Limor Mizrachi 3 and a few fast breaks on their way to an 11-3 lead
less
than 3 minutes into the game. Jackie Johnson and Branchikova narrowed
it
down to 5, but Ramla was turning it over way too often. Luckily for
them,
Ramat Hasharon apparently forgot how to finish fast breaks since they
hardly
got any in the finals thus far, and threw away some of their
opportunities.
Amber Hall dominated the boards as usual and cleaned up some of the
mess in
Ramla’s offense. A put back by Hall brought Ramla to within 16-19 with
fewer
than 2 minutes to go, and that was also the score after 1.
Ramat Hasharon increased the gap to 23-16 following an Akkaya free
throw,
but another Hall put-back and a 3 by Cohen cut it to 21-23 with 7
minutes to
play in the half. The momentum swung to the locals’ side, and they
completed
a 12-4 run with a Johnson 3 point play and yet another put-back by the
Chairwoman of the Boards - Amber Hall. Ramla got its only lead of the
game,
28-27, with 4 minutes to go in the half but Akkaya answered right back
with
a lay-up. Ramla continued to rebound their own misses, and Luda Rom
drew
Rhonda Mapp’s 3rd foul while winning a loose ball battle. Ramat
Hasharon
called a timeout and came back with a smaller lineup and an active
zone. An
important 3 by Tamar Maoz made it a 7-point game, and Lidiya Varbanova
finished a 10-0 run to make it 37-28. Jackie Johnson scored the final 4
points of the first half and missed 2 lay-ups and a three in between,
as
Ramla again proved its rebounding powers and wouldn’t let a possession
end
without scoring. Ramat Hasharon could still be pleased, up 37-32 after
their
best road half of the finals.
Mizrachi kicked off the 3rd quarter with a shot clock beating 3, and
the
lead grew to 8. Hall cut the gap in half, but she wasn’t getting much
help
from her teammates. Ramat Hasharon on the other end finally got some
points
from Ina Gourevitch, Mapp also found the hoop and Ramla took a timeout
trailing 38-48 with a little under 7 minutes to go in the 3rd. Mapp
picked
up her 4th 30 seconds later, but Varbanova scored 4 straight to give
the
visitors a 52-40 lead. Ramla bricked three 3pointers in a row instead
of
going inside, and Ramat Hasharon was also struggling to score. Ornit
Shwartz
nailed a jumper and a 3 to cut it to 7 with 3:35 to go, but those were
Ramla’s last points of the quarter. A flagrant foul by Johnson sent
Mizrachi
to the line, and Gulsah Akkaya sealed the quarter with an offensive
rebound
and a 3-point play opportunity. She missed the free throw, but she drew
Amber Hall’s 3rd and gave her team a 56-45 lead.
A wild shot clock beating 3pointer hit the backboard and went in for
Mizrachi to make it a 12-point game again. Things continued to
deteriorate
for Ramla as the refs handed Hall her 4th foul on a questionable call
with
8:08 to play. A minute later she was called for her 5th foul on a very
questionable call that sent Mapp to the line for a bonus shot leading
61-47,
leaving Ramla without the services of the league’s MVP with 7:11 to go
in
the biggest game of the season. Mapp missed from the line, but it was
hard
to believe Ramla would comeback from this far behind without their best
player. However, we’ve learned already that nothing’s impossible in our
playoffs, and Ramla would come storming back. Ramat Hasharon suddenly
discovered the wonders of offensive rebounding in the absence of the
undisputed rebounding queen of the league, Ramla missed a few free
throws
and the gap was 64-52 with a little over 5 minutes to play. Natasha
Branchikova sank 2 big threes that fired up the crowd and brought Ramla
to
within 66-61. Johnson ended a 13-2 run to make it just a 66-65 game,
but
then committed a very unnecessary foul, her 5th, with 2:15 to go.
Gourevitch
made both free throws and Mizrachi increased the lead to 4, but Taly
Noy hit
a huge 3 to make it a 1-point game again. Mapp failed to connect on a
bunch
of lay-ups under the basket, Ramla eventually got the rebound and
Mizrachi’s
4th foul sent Luda Rom to the free throw line. She made 1 of two to tie
the
game at 69 with under a minute to play. Ramla rebounded the miss, but
Cohen
couldn’t give them the lead. Mizrachi hit two FTs to give Ramat
Hasharon a
71-69 lead with 40 seconds to go, Branchikova hit a tough lay-up over 2
players to tie it again, but Akkaya topped off her best game of the
season
with a game winner.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Limor Mizrachi – 16 pts (0/5 2pt FGs, 3/5 3pt FGs, 7/8 FTs), 6 rebs, 3
ast
Ina Gourevitch – 16 pts (6/12 FGs, 4/5 FTs)
Gulsah Akkaya – 15 pts (6/11 2pt FGs, 0/3 3pt FGs, 3/7 FTs), 4 rebs
Lidiya Varbanova – 12 pts (6/10 FGs, 0/1 FTs), 4 ast
Rhonda Mapp – 9 pts (4/11 FGs, 1/5 FTs), 7 rebs
Tamar Maoz – 5 pts (2/4 FGs)
For Ramla:
Jaclyn Johnson – 20 pts (8/14 2pt FGs, 1/4 3pt FGs, 1/1 FTs), 10 rebs,
7
TOs.
Amber Hall – 15 pts (7/14 FGs, 1/4 FTs), 11 rebs
Natasha Branchikova – 13 pts (1/3 2pt FGs, 3/4 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs)
Liron Cohen – 8 pts (1/5 2pt FGs, 1/7 3pt FGs, 3/4 FTs), 3 rebs, 3 ast
Luda Rom – 7 pts (3/5 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 9 rebs
Ornit Shwartz – 5 pts (1/6 2pt FGs, 1/2 3pt FGs, 0/2 FTs)
Taly Noy – 3 pts (1/5 3pt FGs), 2 rebs, 1 ast
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.