Basketball / Maccabi mauls Rishon; Netanya unbeaten

The only drama from Maccabi Tel Aviv's 89-62 rout of Maccabi Rishon Letzion last night at Bet Maccabi hall was the ejection of losing coach Effi Birnbaum.

Birnbaum, who was unceremoniously dumped by Tel Aviv in the middle of last season, was thrown out of the game in the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul.

The game itself seemed to end quickly. Tel Aviv raced to an 11-0 lead in the first four minutes of the first quarter. Tel Aviv led by as much as 16-2 in the opening stanza.

Rishon managed to slash the lead to as little as six, courtesy of a three-pointer by Yehu Orland, yet the Men in Yellow maintained a comfortable edge all night.

Guy Pnini scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Guard Andrew Wisniewski notched 19 points and five assists while Doron Perkins added 14 points. Maccabi improved to 3-0 in the Premier League.

Former Israel national team captain Meir Tapiro scored 14 points and committed six turnovers in the losing effort.

Larry O'Bannon led Rishon with 23 points.

Tel Aviv's next test will not be nearly as simple, as Lottomatica Roma awaits the Israeli champion on Thursday for a Euroleague match.

Maccabi's dominance in the Premier League renders its matches as nothing more than mere tune-up games for the elite clubs in Europe.

The surprise of the young season is Elitzur Maccabi Netanya, which defeated Hapoel Afula 84-79 last night at Yeshurun Arena in Netanya.

With the victory, Netanya - which advanced to the Premier League this season following its second-tier Liga Leumit championship - is now 3-0.

Danilo Pinnock scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Marco Killingsworth poured home 20 points and registered 10 rebounds for the winning team.

Bnei Hasharon wins thriller

Uri Itzhaki converted two clutch free throws with 15 seconds remaining, to give Bnei Hasharon a dramatic 65-63 victory over Ironi Ashkelon.

Bnei Hasharon relinquished a double-digit lead it had built in the first half, allowing Ashkelon to close the gap.

Yet Bnei Hasharon center Shawn James overwhelmed the Ashkelon frontline throughout the game in a dominant performance - 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Brian Tolbert scored 18 points for Ashkelon in the losing effort. Bnei Hasharon improved to 2-1 on the season while Ashkelon fell to 1-2.

Meanwhile, Ironi Nahariya defeated Ironi Ramat Gan 80-76. Nahariya's victory was its first of the season while Ramat Gan remains winless at 0-3.

Undefeated Galil/Gilboa maintains possession of first place by virtue of point differential.