The first title of the season in the national league belongs to Hapoel Afula, which won the National League Cup tonight (Thursday) when it defeated Elitzur Ashkelon 78:96.
After a considered first half, only one team appeared for the other half.
Nir Kaplan's team came up great in the third quarter and held the Southerners to just 8 points en route to a double-digit advantage that they did not drop until the end.
Vander Blue was great with 31 points, which is the title of Outstanding Player of the Finals.
The Southerners are returning to the league after a great campaign in the Cup that ends in a sour taste with a painful loss in the capital of the valley.
Daniel Rosenbaum opened with 8 points in 3 minutes. On the other side Vander Blue scored 4 points in a row and with a basket and foul move Guy Dotan set 10:12. Two consecutive threes by the visitors, were answered in two big moves by Tomer Porat (11 points in the first quarter) who set 25:27 for the home team. At the start of the second quarter, the pace calmed down and the board showed 32:33 to Afula, 5 minutes into the half. Vander Blue maintained the local advantage, while Alon Drucker scored a beautiful basket in the round. At half time 42:41 to the Southerners. Threes for Roi Nazia and Guy Dotan at the start of the third quarter set a record advantage for the home team 44:54. The Afula run continued and already reached 4-18 on the way to a 46:59 advantage. Elitzur with him Ashkelon closed this quarter with only 8 points and saw Anton Shotbin set 50:69 at the end of the third quarter. An impossible three by Vander Blue and another by Tomer Porat raised the gap to 54:81, 7 minutes to go. Elitzur with him Ashkelon responded with a 13-2 run and reduced to 67:83. However, it was too late and Hapoel Afula recorded a victory in the final game.
Scorers for Hapoel Afula: Vander Blue (11/20 for two) 31 points, Tomer Porat (3/4 for three) 16 points, Guy Dotan 13 points, Roi Natzia 11 points, Michael Holyfield 10 points, Ziv Ben Zvi ( 6 assists) 7 points, Anton Shotbin 6 points, Omar Elal 2 points.
Scorers for Elitzur with him Ashkelon: Storm Warren (9 rebounds) 21 points, Daniel Rosenbaum (7 rebounds). 13 points, J.R. Holder and DJ Sharp 12 points each, Jordan Lewis 8 points , Alon Drucker 7 points, Arthur Rosenfeld 5 points.
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