Israel Cup
By Orli Klinger
The Israel Cup is the 2nd most important title in Israeli basketball,
behind
the national championship. The semi finals and final were held this
past
week, and Ramat Hasharon came out on top, winning their 2nd straight
and
dedicating it to Aluma Goren.
Semi Final 1: Elizur Ramla 64, Bnei Yehuda 52
Bnei Yehuda had to play without one of the best players in the league,
Tawona Alhaleem, who didn’t practice all week due to a meniscus tear in
her
knee. Despite being shorthanded, they still managed to drag Ramla to a
slow
paced game. Ramla didn’t have a good game, but a few good minutes at
the end
against a tired opponent were enough for them to make the finals.
Bnei Yehuda started out well and went up 13-6. Their tough defense
forced
many turnovers as no Ramla player but Amber Hall was finding the rim.
The
lead grew to 17-8 with under 3 minutes to go in the quarter, but Ramla
began
to get fast break baskets and ended the quarter up 17-18. Ramla’s run
carried over to the 2nd, before Goni Tanhelson’s three ended the Bnei
Yehuda
drought and made it a 20-24 game. Another Tanhelson three set the
halftime
score, cutting the Ramla lead to just 33-32.
The game remained close in the 3rd quarter as well. Despite
unimpressive
shooting and Ramla’s dominance on the bards, Bnei Yehuda trailed only
38-42
with about 4 minutes to go in the quarter. Ramla then tightened up
their D
and Bnei Yehuda had trouble getting shots off. Jackie Johnson increased
the
gap to 6 from the line, and added a steal and a lay-up to make it 48-40
after 3.
Bnei Yehuda’s players, who gave it all they had, looked pretty tired in
the
4th as Ramla continued to take advantage of their strong points. Ina
Boutenko buried her only three of the game to make it a 45-50 game, but
led
by Jackie Johnson, Ramla maintained their lead till the end.
For Ramla:
Jaclyn Johnson – 21 pts (8/15 FGs, 5/8 FTs), 11 rebs, 4 ast
Amber Hall – 20 pts (12 in the 1st quarter, 6/12 FGs, 8/11 FTs), 8
rebs, 4
stls, 7 TOs
Alicia Thompson – 10 pts (5/7 2pt FG, 0/4 3pt FGs), 13 rebs
Liron Cohen – 5 pts (2/10 FGs)
For Bnei Yehuda:
Leslie Johnson - 13 pts (5/12 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 5 rebs
Goni Tanhelson - 12 pts (3/5 2pt FGs, 2/6 3pt FGs), 3 rebs, 2 ast, 4
TOs
Ina Boutenko - 12 pts (3/7 2pt FGs, 1/7 3pt FGs, 3/5 FTs), 4 rebs
Dragoslava Zakula - 9 pts (3/12 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 4 TOs
Semi final 2: Ramat Hasharon 80, Maccabi Ashdod 78
We almost had a big sensation. Ashdod fought hard against Ramat
Hasharon’s
superior roster and led by 6 in the 4th quarter, before Rhonda Mapp
woke up
and calmly narrowed the gap. Tamar Maoz’s two bricks from the foul line
with
19 seconds to play increased the heart beat rate in the red camp and
gave
Ashdod the ball back down 76-79. Ashdod and young PG Kenya Larkin
looked for
a three as the ball came to Vika Rudovski for a tough shot that missed
its
mark. Luckily for them, Valerie Muoneke was sent to the FT line and
made
both to make it a 1-point game with 4.5 seconds to play. Ashdod fouled
Limor
Mizrachi with 3.3 ticks remaining. She made the first and missed the
2nd,
Larkin missed a half court shot and Ramat Hasharon let out a big sigh
of
relive.
The game started out close and offensive, and seemed like it was gonna
go
down to the wire. Six points by Crystal Givens gave Ashdod a 15-10
lead, but
Ramat Hasharon came right back using fast breaks thanks mainly to Tracy
Reid
who finished and created open court opportunities. The 1st ended tied
at 21
as Ashdod’s offensive rebounding helped them keep up the pace.
The trend continued in the 2nd, as both teams were still neck and neck.
Reid
and Lidiya Varbanova carried the offensive load for Ramat Hasharon,
while
Ashdod’s scoring load was shared between Muoneke, Givens and Sarit
Arbel.
The defensive rebounding was still Ramat Hasharon’s biggest problem as
they
trailed 42-20 at the half despite shooting 60% from the field while
Ashdod
shot 42%. Tracy Reid led all scorers at the half with 16 points.
A great assist from Larkin found Givens under the basket and gave
Ashdod a 4
point lead, but not for long. No team was able to open a significant
gap,
and a three by Larkin tied the game at 55. Limor Mizrachi sealed the
3rd
from the foul line, 58-57 Ramat Hasharon.
Ramat Hasharon went up 61-57 in seconds, but Ashdod replied with a 9-0
run
that featured points from four different players and built a 66-61
lead.
Mapp ended the run with a midrange jumper, and a 3 by Rudovski gave
Ashdod
the biggest lead of the game at 69-63 with under 7 minutes to go. Mapp
nailed two more jumpers and a free throw to pull Ramat Hasharon back
within
1, and Reid scored to give the lead back to the girls in red. Rudovski
and
Maoz exchanged threes and the lead kept changing hands. Tracy Reid
decided
her great game wouldn’t end with a loss, and put her team up 75-74 with
2
minutes to go. Rudovski missed a three at the other end, Reid rebounded
and
scored to increase the gap to 3. Larkin found herself defended by the
long
and athletic Reid in Ashdod’s next possession, and missed a three with
31
secs to play. Varbanova and Larkin each made two FTs, and Maoz missed
hers.
But Ramat Hasharon came out on top, and Ashdod came out with their
heads
held high. Real high.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Tracy Reid – 26 pts (11/13 FGs!!, 4/7 FTs), 13 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blocks.
Lidiya Varbanova – 17 pts (7/11 FGs, 3/4 FTs), 10 rebs, 4 ast
Rhonda Mapp – 15 pts (7/9 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 3 rebs
Limor Mizrachi – 11 pts (2/8 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 5 ast, 2 stls
For Ashdod:
Valeria Muoneke – 20 pts (8/18 FGs, 4/8 FTs), 16 rebs, 2 stls
Kenya Larkin – 14 pts (3/8 2pt FGs, 2/7 3pt FGs, 2/2 FTs), 6 ast, 4
rebs
Vika Rudovski – 13 pts (3/11 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 4 ast, 2 stls
Crystal Givens – 12 pts (5/12 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 7 rebs
Sarit Arbel – 10 pts (5/10 FGs), 3 rebs, 6 steals
FINAL
Ramat Hasharon 73 – Elizur Ramla 59
Ramat Hasharon successfully defended its title with a big win over
Ramla,
who has lost 7 straight cup finals in the 90’s and has never won it.
The low
score was supposed to work in Ramla’s favor, but not when they play
this
poorly. Ramat Hasharon proved they too know how to play defense, and
came
out celebrating led by Limor Mizrachi and Tracy Reid, who played on two
sore
knees and was voted the Cup’s MVP.
Ramat Hasharon went up 6-0 early, but Ramla was quick to tie. A basket
by
Luda Rom and a 3 by Natasha Branchikova snapped a 16-16 tie and gave
Ramla a
5 point lead. Rhonda Mapp answered on the other end, Mizrachi found
Varbanova with 2 assists and Ramat Hasharon led 24-21 after 1.
Ramat Hasharon went up 29-23 with points by Reid and Varbanova. A 3 by
Liron
Cohen, the only Ramla player who showed up, helped Ramla close to
within 2
and Jackie Johnson tied it at 31 with two FTs, 5 minutes before
halftime.
Reid, who was visibly limited by her knee aches, came back in the game
and
beat the shot clock with a put back. Another Reid put back gave Ramat
Hasharon a 39-34 lead, as Ramla was missing 3’s and turning it over
repeatedly. A steal by Amber Hall led to two FTs by Cohen, but Gulsah
Akkaya
nailed a big 3 to make it 42-36 at the break.
Ramla, who suffered from a slow night of everyone not named Cohen, took
3
minutes to get their first point of the 2nd half. Ornit Shwartz finally
got
tired of watching her teammates clank from outside and took it to the
hole
for 2, but only after Ina Gourevitch hit a 3 before committing her 4th
foul.
Cohen scored to make it 49-41 and Ramla began to make some comeback
noises.
But unforced misses, bad decisions and more turnovers weren’t helping
their
cause. A nice play from Mapp to Reid made it a 9 point game, and three
point
plays by Mizrachi and Mapp gave Ramat Hasharon the biggest lead in the
game,
57-44. A three by Cohen cut the gap to 10 after 3.
Another three by Liron Cohen made it just 7, but Ramla turned it over
on
their next possessions and Ramat Hasharon punished for it and went on a
9-0
run to make it 66-50. Ramla’s offense was stuck and the Ramat Hasharon
celebrations were starting. The buzzer sent Ina Gourevitch and Limor
Mizrachi to raise the cup, the MVP award to Reid, and the Ramla players
to
collect their silver medals - for the 8th time in club history.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Tracy Reid – 13 pts (6/14 FGs, 1/1 FTs), 7 rebs in 36 minutes.
Lidiya Varbanova – 13 pts (6/10 FGs) in 34 mins.
Ina Gourevitch – 12 pts (3/6 FGs, 4/4 FTs), 3 rebs in 18 mins.
Limor Mizrachi – 12 pts (3/12 FGs, 5/7 FTs), 7 ast, 6 rebs & 6 steals
in 35
mins.
Rhonda Mapp – 11 pts (5/8 FGs, 1/3 FTs), 4 rebs in 32 mins.
Gulsah Akkaya – 7 pts (3/8 FGs), 6 rebs in 18 mins.
Tamar Maoz – 6 pts (3/7 FGs), 4 rebs in 5 mins.
For Ramla:
Liron Cohen – 21 pts (4/11 2pt FGs, 3/4 3pt FGs, 4/5 FTs), 3 rebs and 2
assists in 34 mins.
Alicia Thompson – 10 pts (5/13 FGs), 3 rebs and 2 ast in 25 mins.
Ornit Shwartz – 8 pts (4/7 FGs), 4 rebs and 2 ast in 26 mins.
Jaclyn Johnson – 7 pts (2/11 FGs, 4/5 FTs), 7 rebs and 2 ast in 39
mins.
Amber Hall – 5 pts (1/5 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 11 rebs and 2 ast in 39 mins.
The playoff semi finals tip off next week. The 1st seeded Ramla will
face the
surprising Ashdod in a best of 5 series. Ramat Hen will enjoy home
court
advantage in their best of 5 series against Ramat Hasharon. Ramla and
Ramat
Hasharon might have to manage with one less foreigner, as Alicia
Thompson
and Tracy Reid wish to leave the country to return to their worried
families.
Information reprinted with permission of Lior Klinger and Orli Klinger. Send an e-mail to be put on the mailing list.