Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv's home stretch continues on Friday, facing Hapoel Be'er Sheva as part of the 13th Israeli Winner League fixture (13:00, Live on Sport5 - Channel 55). Friday's matchup will be just the sixth head to head game between the two sides as the Yellow & Blue came away with all five previous contests. 

The Yellow & Blue seek their third consecutive domestic win and their ninth overall this 2020/21 season against Rami Hadar's squad, which comes in with a 6:6 record. Keep an eye on Caleb Agada, who's leading the league in scoring with 23.9 points per game.

Sandy Cohen, who missed the last month after visiting his family in the U.S.A and overcoming COVID, returns to action. Giannis Sfairopoulos's roster will be filled out by Scottie Wilbekin, Angelo Caloiaro, Othello Hunter, Tyler Dorsey, John Dibartolomeo, Oz Blayzer, Dragan Bender, Dori Sahan, Eidan Alber, Yonatan Atias, and Yovel Zoosman.

---

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv registered their third consecutive win with a 100:74 win over Hapoel Be'er Sheva, improving their record in the Israeli Winner League to 9:2 on the season. The Yellow & Blue's next opponent is Maccabi Rishon LeZion, which will come into Menora Mivtachim Arena on Sunday evening.

Giannis Sfairopoulos's unit played excellent team basketball, finishing with five double-digit scorers. Othello Hunter led the way with 16 points, Oz Blayzer tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, John DiBartolomeo added 15 points and five assists, while Scottie Wilbekin scored 11 points and dished 6 assists.



Game recap:

Maccabi started with Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Oz Blayzer, Angelo Caloiaro, and Othello Hunter, while the Reds opened with Amit Suss, Amir Bell, Spencer Weisz, Caleb Agada, and Eric Griffin.

The Yellow & Blue used their height advantage, posting their opponent as Blayzer and Caloiaro each scored 4 points for the hosts, and Wilbekin connected from deep for an 11:0 run, 15:4. 

Griffin put the visitors on his back, scoring 9 of the teams 11 points, but Wilbekin and Hunter added on to the margin, as Dragan Bender shot in a shot from behind the arc, 29:15 after 10 minutes.



Tyler Dorsey drilled his first points from deep, and Sandy Cohen, who returned to the court after a month, converted twice from the free-throw line, 34:19. Dorsey added another triple, and Dori Sahar laid in two layups opening a 17 point edge. 

A Blayzer steal led to a Hunter slam, and Wilbekin closed out the first half with a typical buzzer-beating triple giving the host a 22 point margin, 53:31.

Be'er Sheva opened the second half more determined with a 10:0 run, which led to a Sfairopoulos timeout. John Dibartolomeo responded with multiple three-pointers, and Blayzer added a three-point play, 66:49. 



Zoosman added four consecutive points, including a corner three as DiBartolomeo finished an excellent quarter, with a buzzer-beating layup, 79:53.

Eidan Alber began the final quarter with a layup and added multiple assists as Hunter dished an accurate pass to the driving Zoosman who slammed it down with the right hand, 88:61. 

DiBartolomeo knocked down shots from behind the arc, Zoosman scored more buckets inside, and Alber concluded the contest with four straight points. Maccabi dominates Hapoel Be'er Sheva, 100:74.

---