Warriors lowly finish

THE Maccabi Warriors concluded their season on a sour note, losing two matches during a weekend double-header, which consigned the squad to a bottom-place finish on the Big V Division 2 ladder.

On Saturday night, Maccabi was defeated 78-71 by the Oakleigh Warriors at GESAC. In a free-flowing, fast-paced game that went down to the wire, it was the charity stripe where the game was decided, as Oakleigh enjoyed 11 more attempts and made 10 more free throws than Maccabi.

The crowd enjoyed an entertaining clash between two of the league MVP favourites, as Benji Tamir went head to head with Oakleigh’s Canadian import, Andrew Kaban. While Kaban’s side got the last laugh, Tamir showed he had no fear against his much-hyped opponent, repeatedly scoring inside on his way to 30 points and nine rebounds.

Maccabi’s Daniel Dreshpul scored 10 on aggressive drives to the ring, while Gavin Katz (six assists) got teammates involved with his vision and passing.

Backing up the effort on Sunday afternoon, Maccabi failed to give its captain Josh Burns a fitting tribute in his 100th game, going down to the Keilor Thunder 64-58.

In another nailbiter, the Warriors clawed back from a double-digit deficit at half-time and got to within three points as the clock ticked down. But a fairytale finish in front of Maccabi’s biggest crowd this season was thwarted when the visitors hit a couple of clutch three-pointers to close out the match.

Samson Baron and Yoav Molcho helped Maccabi to a firstquarter lead. After the Warriors fell behind, Dreshpul (11 points) was instrumental in fuelling the second- half comeback, and, along with Tamir (14 points), nearly managed to drag Maccabi over the line.

Milestone-man Burns (12 points) was sizzling from beyond the arc, while Nick Alexandrou (18 rebounds) was dominant in the paint.

Maccabi’s All-Abilities basketball team, the Dolphins, enjoyed a shooting contest at half-time and led the raucous home crowd in chanting and cheering.

ADAM BLAU

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