Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv stayed undefeated through 9 Israeli Basketball Premier League fixtures, after routing passed Hapoel Holon 94:76. Once again, Scottie WIlbekin had a masterful performance, hitting 8 of 14 shots from outside for 30 points. Deni Avdija performed well, scoring 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. On Thursday: CSKA Moscow comes into town.
Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Deni Avdija, Jake Cohen, and Tarik Black opened in Giannis Sfairopoulos’s starting five. Marcus Foster put Holon on the board first with a three-pointer, however, Wilbekin responded with two of his own. Troy Caupin, with a couple of nice plays, gave the visitors a 10:6 advantage that made coach Sfairopoulos take an early timeout. Wilbekin reacted with his third three of the first quarter to cut down the lead to 13:16. Foster continued the purples good start with two buckets inside the paint to give them a 6 point lead. Avdija impressed on both sides of the court, and Tyler Dorsey reduced to 27:30 after the first ten minutes.
Yovel Zoosman opened the second quarter with a shot behind the arc, Black and T.J Klein exchanged buckets that left the visitors on top 34:32. The Israeli champs geared it up on defense, as Zoosman and Cohen were accurate from deep, Avdija finished a fast break with a slam and Dorsey hit two free throws that gave the Yellow and Blue a 46:38 advantage. Guy Pnini stopped the hosts 11:2 run with 5 straight points, on the other end, Elijah Bryant (three-point play) and Dorsey (three-pointer) answered, 52:46 Maccabi. Avdija hit the hosts 8th three of the half, and Foster scored his third shot from deep, 55:51 Maccabi after two quarters.
Malachi Richardson and Foster finished strong under the basket for a bucket and a foul as Cohen scored a layup, 57:57. Wilbekin hit two threes, Avdija scored a sturdy shot for 8 unanswered points, 65:59. Hunter and Zoosman gave Maccabi their biggest lead of the day, 71:62 going into the final quarter.
Howell scored the first two points of the period, and a Pnini three-pointer reduced the Yellow and Blue’s lead, 71:67. Wilbekin hit his 6th and 7th three-pointer, and on the other end, Howell kept Holon in it, 77:71. Wilbekin scored his 30th point of the night to bring the hosts up by double digits, 82:71. Avdija delivered the highlight of the game with a left-handed slam dunk, and Amit Aharoni made his debut, in the end, a convincing 94:76 Maccabi victory of Holon.