Ironi Ness Ziona Beats Galil Elyon 78-70 to Reach Winner Cup Semis

Ironi Ness Ziona completed the Winner Cup semifinal lineup on Monday night after securing a 78-70 victory over Hapoel Galil Elyon at the Enerbox in Hadera. Paul Corsaro's squad will face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the next round after controlling most of the game and surviving a second-half comeback attempt by their opponents.

Ness Ziona started strong as Paris Lee and Justin James led them to a 23-16 lead after ten minutes. Lee continued to score in the second quarter while Josh Christopher and Freddie Gillespie contributed, allowing the lead to grow. Nate Kingz and Alston Mason tried to respond for Galil Elyon, but the northern side was restricted to just 10 points in the second period, trailing 44-26 at halftime.

Idan Avshalom's team returned transformed for the second half. Kingz, who starred with 29 points, spearheaded an excellent 28-17 third quarter that narrowed the gap to 61-54 heading into the final ten minutes. The momentum continued into the fourth, and with about 44 seconds remaining, Itay Moskovits cut the deficit to 74-70, but Christopher and Lee converted from the free-throw line to seal the win.

James led Ness Ziona with 18 points, Lee added 16 along with five assists, Jackson Rowe scored 12, and Vincent Keshel and Christopher chipped in 11 each. For Galil Elyon, Kingz stood out with 29 points and seven rebounds, while Mason contributed 15 and Maurice Kemp finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.