ISRAEL SPORTS
  • Home
    • Softball >
      • Schedule and Locations
      • Standings
      • Player Registration form
      • Team Registration Form
      • Playoff Bracket
      • Rosters
    • News
  • Basketball
    • News
    • Highlights
    • Standings
    • Schedule and Locations
    • Playoff Bracket
    • Rules
    • Team Registration Form
    • Player Registration Form
    • Rosters
  • Summer Camp
  • Contact Us
  • More Stuff...
  • Flag Football
    • News
    • Rules
    • Hall of Fame >
      • Men's Flag Football Hall of Fame
  • Youth

LOBOS, GOLD SEALS, AR&T ADVANCE TO TIER I QUARTERFINALS; TIER II SEMIS SET

3/3/2019

0 Comments

 
by Ilan Katz

PLAYOFFS OPENING ROUND

Each of the top seeds won their Tier I matchup, with the Lobos looking like one of the league’s hottest teams. Meanwhile, Tier II featured an upset of sorts, and its semifinals are set. Free throws tended to play difference-maker for more than a couple of opening-round battles.

Tier I

FM Home Loans Game of the Week
Gold Seals 63, Pittsburgh Strong 56
These teams featured a contrast of styles, with Pittsburgh Strong relying on quickness and Gold Seals with a more balanced approach and an advantage on the interior. The teams traded leads for all of the first half, with Gold Seals claiming a 29-24 halftime lead, punctuated by a buzzer-beating jumper from Eli Gruenberg.

The teams continued to battle in the second half, with Pittsburgh Strong hanging onto a lead at the 12-minute mark. But down the stretch Gold Seals maintained a four point advantage and seemingly could not miss from the free throw line, ultimately coming up with a seven-point win.

While all six Gold Seals who logged minutes contributed in meaningful ways, they were led by the inside-outside duo of Yosef Hochner and Eli Gruenberg. Hochner was too much for Pittsburgh Strong on the interior, combining elite size with excellent footwork an touch to dominate in the post. Gruenberg wowed spectators with acrobatic finishes, flashy assists, and shooting from all levels to will his team to victory.

Gold Seals will meet Cross River Mooseheads for the second time in less than a month in a quarterfinal matchup. Pittsburgh Strong’s great season comes to an end.

A. Rafi & Tommy’s 52, Power Mishna 48
Following their heartbreaking loss in last week’s FM Home Loans Game of the Week, A. Rafi & Tommy’s had to settle for the #6 seed and face a red-hot Power Mishna squad who won each of their last two games in convincing fashion to earn a Tier I spot. Power Mishna got hot late, hitting a couple of outside shots to give them the lead inside of two minutes to play. But AR&T weren’t feeling so giving, as they took the lead play and wouldn’t relinquish it, forcing back-to-back turnovers and making free throws to seal the deal. AR&T will take on Sy Savages in a quarterfinal matchup reminiscent of their matchup earlier in the season, which the Savages took in a close one.

Lobos 69, Bad Boys 32
In a prominent display of how an emotional victory can propel a team to greater heights, Lobos, on the winning end of the potential Game of the Year last week over A. Rafi & Tommy’s, looked like a bona fide powerhouse in beating the Bad Boys. Ben Hamer had the first nine Lobos points, who didn’t allow a basket for the first 11 minutes of the game. The Lobos will look to continue this incredible momentum in next week’s quarterfinals matchup with Shraga. Shraga defeated Lobos in the season’s opening game, rather comfortably at that. But both of these teams have evolved. It should be an exciting matchup.

Tier II

Aliya Glory 42, Loketch Group 32
In what was a closer game than what the score indicated, Aliya Glory advances to the Tier II Semifinals. The game was tied 19-19 at the half, but Aliya Glory relied on interior scoring and made 13-14 free throws, while Loketch Group could not hit from the charity stripe. After starting the season 0-4, Aliya Glory has now won three of its past four games. While it was too little, too late for them to qualify for Tier I, they will be considered a legitimate threat to take down top-seeded Rap City, with a spot in the Tier II championship on the line

Falafel Ballers 51, Invaders 46
Sixth-seeded Invaders looked determined to pull off the upset, building what at one point was a 10-point lead, but Falafel Ballers wouldn’t let their season end on this day. Led by guard Emmanuel Dicker, the Ballers didn’t settle for bad shots, attacking the paint and finishing, or getting to the line and making free throws. Falafel Ballers will take on Ashreinu Holy Bagels in the Tier II semifinals. This will be a rematch of the tightly-contested matchup from the season’s opening weekend, which was won by Ashreinu Holy Bagels.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Authors

    Ari Adler is a sportswriter and video editor, based in Jerusalem.

    Ilan Katz
    is a veteran author, sportscaster, analyst and organizational sports consultant. His first love in journalism is basketball, for which he has been doing play-by-play since his days as the lead broadcaster for the Yeshiva University Macabees, as well as the Red Saracheck Tournament. He anchors the FM Home Loans Israel Basketball League weekly broadcasts.


    Monty Wayland is a journalist whose work is syndicated by the GAN News Network, and featured in media including The Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz. 
    His latest book, co-authored with Figmentov Uri Magination, is “Fourth-and-T’fachim: What the NFL and the Babylonian Talmud Teach Us About the Dynamic Tension Between Technocratic and Substantive Systems of Codification, and Life”.

    Archives

    January 2023
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    March 2016
    March 2015
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.