JERUSALEM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday night achieved an 88-82 home win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.
The win raised Maccabi to a 23-4 win-loss record, securing first place in the regular league and home advantage throughout the 8-team playoffs. Hapoel, now with a 21-7 record, will enter the playoffs from second place.
In front of 10,000 fans at the Menorah Mivtachim Arena in southern Tel Aviv, Hapoel took a 20-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, mainly thanks to a diverse contribution by Braian Angola.
Rebounds and points by Tyler Ennis, including a half-court three-pointer with the buzzer at the end of the second quarter helped Hapoel extend the margin to 40-31 at halftime.
Roman Sorkin and Lorenzo Brown brought Maccabi back into business, taking a 58-54 lead at the end of the third quarter, then points by Sorkin and Tamir Blatt secured the victory for the yellow-blues.
Sorkin topped the Maccabi scorers with 19 points, while Brown added 18. Jaylen Hoard scored a game high 22 points for the reds. ■
