By Amy Samin
Sylven Landesberg with 31points (5 of 8 from 3) led Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv to an 80-65 victory over his former team, Maccabi Haifa at Romema Arena. Devin Smith had a double double with 13 points and 16 rebounds, and Jeremy Pargo added 11 points and 8 assists. Yogev Ohayon flirted with a triple double, finishing with 10 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
Goodes led off with Sofo Schortsanitis, Jake Cohen, Yogev Ohayon, MarQuez Haynes, and Devin Smith. An 8-2 run by Maccabi took up the first three minutes of the game, including a steal by Haynes who passed to Smith for the layup. The hosts suddenly went to work and went on a run of their own that gave them a 9-8 lead halfway through the period. A three pointer by Sylven Landesberg in the left corner put Maccabi back on top briefly, but when Smith added a reverse layup at the buzzer, the score was 20-18 to Haifa.
Smith and Landesberg put the lead back in Maccabi's hands in the first minute and a half of the second quarter, 25-20. Once again Haifa got back into the game, retaking the lead while the visitors struggled on offense. It was Landesberg who brought Maccabi even at 35 off an assist from Jeremy Pargo, while Cohen scored from downtown and in the paint to make it 40-37 Maccabi going into the break.
The third quarter got started with points by Pargo and Ohayon, followed by a huge three by Smith on the right wing that made it 47-41 after three minutes. Aleks Mari? made a nice contribution in the paint, while a string of points by Pargo protected Maccabi's lead, 53-45 with three minutes to go in the period. Landesberg added points from the foul line and a buzzer-beating floater to wrap up the quarter, 57-51, Maccabi.
Points by Ohayon and Landesberg on the right wing (and 1) opened Maccabi's lead to 68-56 close to the halfway mark in the period, and at that point Haifa simply couldn't make another comeback. Smith, Landesberg and Pargo continued to score for Maccabi and Ohayon nearly snagged a triple double. In the end, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Haifa 80-65.