Beaten on a Buzzer Beater, Lost by 1 in the Cup Final

This last week has been pretty crazy, as we have had both the Cup Semi-Final game against Jerusalem, and last night, the Cup Final against Hapoel Holon.  

In the Cup Semi's we were heavy underdogs going up against 2nd place Jerusalem without our starting point guard Doron Perkins who is out with a groin injury.  We were 9 point underdogs going into the game, so no one expected us to win.  We played Jerusalem at the Nokia Center in Tel Aviv (where Maccabi TA plays) and the gym was frickin' packed.  All four semi-final teams brought pretty large amounts of people which led to very few empty seats.  Hapoel Holon beat Nahariya right before we played, so their fans stayed to root us on against Jerusalem (figuring we would be the easier team to defeat in the Final).  After a back and forth game all night which saw many lead changes, we were up by 2 with 30 seconds to go in the game.  We played GREAT defense on the posession forcing their four-man to shoot a contested step back 3 pointer with nearly no time left on the shot clock... the shot we wanted them to take... and sure enough... HE MADE IT.  So down 1 point with 8 seconds to go, we get the ball to Moshe Mizrahi on a baseline cut with 2 seconds left, and he shoots a circus 5 footer, gets fouled, and MAKES THE SHOT! We are now up 1, he misses the free throw because they do not have any timeouts, and they have to attempt a full court shot as time expires... and we WIN!!  This is the first time in 20 years of Israeli basketball that neither Jerusalem or Maccabi Tel Aviv were in the Cup Final.  Regardless of who won between us and Holon it would be a new champion for the first time in 25 years or so.

So onto the final...

We played Holon who we had beat three times already this year (two friendly games, and once in league) so we were very confident that we could get the job done.  The final went eerily similar to that of the Semi-final, as there were a lot of lead changes, and a lot of back and forths... and once again it came down to the final posession.  We were up 1 and had the ball with 8 seconds left, and got fouled.  We went to the line and hit 1 of 2 free throws, and had a 2 point lead as they rushed the ball up the court with 7 seconds to go.  Their veteran point guard who comes off the bench, brought the ball up and found himself trapped with nowhere to go 15 ft from the basket.  With two seconds left he dribbled back out to the corner and shot a double pump, step back, super contested three pointer over two defenders...AND MADE IT WITH NO TIME LEFT.  I have never seen anything like it to end a game that I participated in.  We did everything we could do on that posession, he just made a ridiculous shot to beat us, that is the bottom line.  

So in the span of .5 seconds, we went from being on top of the world, to the bottom.  I guess that is why you play basketball for moments like that, you just never want to be on the losing end.  

The crazy thing is we play this same Holon team in the league schedule this weekend in their gym, so it will be a good chance for us to display our character and see what we can do.  That's all for now, and I will be sure to update the blog after that game.  I hope everyone is well, and I will be back soon!

Solid win against Rishon, 8-4 and alone in 3rd...

We played a new and improved Rishon team on Saturday, and scraped a close one out.  The first time we played Rishon, we beat them by 25 at their place.  Obviously their management wasn't too pleased with the way the team was performing because they went out and signed two really good American dudes to help the team out.  The first three games they played with the new players they picked up wins, and in their fourth game we were only able to beat them by 6 at home.  After personally playing real well against Ramat Gan the weekend before, I didn't get in this game, and not really sure why.  All that is important is that the team got the W, and now we got to focus on this upcoming week when we play Hapoel Jerusalem in the Cup Semifinals in the Nokia Center in Tel Aviv.  Also, in the other games in the league this weekend, everything we wanted to happen did.  We have created quite the gap between us and the teams battling for 6th place, so unless we have a major collapse we should cruise to the playoffs.  

This week will be good because everyone will be dialed in for Jerusalem, knowing if we get by them we have a very winnable game in the Cup Finals, which would lead to very nice bonuses for all the guys on the team!! That's really the only update for now, the weather is getting really nice again, and it is almost time for myself to be hitting the beach up again!

Great Visit with the Parents, and a Big Win Last Week..

Once again it has taken me awhile to update the blog, but I have a very good excuse this time.  My parents arrived here a little more than a week and a half ago, and I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible while they were here!  If you know me, you know I am not one for day trips and travel, but since my parents made the trip half way across the world, I owed it to them to be the best tour guide I could.  The first free day we had we headed down to Tel Aviv and ended up spending a good three hours at the beach.  We found a really cool restaurant on the water, and we just chilled, starin' into the ocean for a long while.  It was real cool, and when we were done, we had to head back to Haifa because I practiced early the next day.  During the week last week, we stayed local in Haifa, visiting the German Colony and the Baha'i Gardens... two local touristy spots in Haifa.  Both places were pretty cool, the Baha'i Gardens are beautiful, but we couldn't go all the way in because it was closed up that day.  Other than those two visits, we really just laid low during the week, went to a bunch of great restaurants and enjoyed each other's company.  When this last Sunday rolled around it was game time again (the second game my parents got to see) and fortunately for myself and them, I got some real good minutes in the 1st half, and played real well.  I had two quick 3's as soon as I got into the game, and played 10 mins total in the first half.  We ended up beating Ramat Gan pretty well, by about 20 points, and I ended up with 8 pts, 2 assists, and 2 boards in 12 mins.  It was great to be able to get that much playin' time with my parents in the building, and they really enjoyed it.  

The next day (this Monday) it was their last full day in Israel, and I had the day off, so we day tripped down to Jerusalem.  Knowing we didn't have a whole bunch of time, we headed straight for the Western Wall.  It was a real cool experience to be able to go to the wall with my pops (the wall is sectioned off so only men can go on one side, and females on the other).  We got some really good pictures, so if anyone wants to see them, just shoot me an e-mail at golden.todd@gmail.com and I will send 'em to you.  We spent about 2 hours in the Old City of Jerusalem, and it was a great experience.  

As for hoop, I have been playing a lot more (12 mins last game, 15 mins the game before that) so hopefully this is a trend that continues... we are 9-4, and have 3rd place to ourselves, so we are in very good position right now... hopefully we can keep it up.  That's it for now, and remember, if you want to see those pics, just shoot me an e-mail.  Be good.