Maccabi Haifa keeps it close against the Raptors

Maccabi Haifa’s Leroy Hickerson heads for the hoop as the Raptors Greivis Vasquez, centre, Bruno Caboclo, left, and Terrence Ross defend. SHERI SHEFA PHOTO

TORONTO — Despite a hectic and demanding 10-day NBA tour that brought one of Israel’s best professional basketball teams to four North American cities, Maccabi Haifa managed to keep the game competitive in its 92-85 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Having played – and lost – three previous NBA exhibition games against the Washington Wizards, Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings earlier this month, Maccabi Haifa took to the court without their captain Dagan Yivzori, who tore his quadriceps in the game against the Wizards.

Yivzori said although Maccabi Haifa came into these matches as “underdogs,” the opportunity to play against NBA players on a tour that the team has done four times over the past five years is a huge benefit.

“I think it’s good for American basketball fans to know there is different kind of basketball in different places in the world,” he said.

“I think it is a great experience for players that would never get to experience the NBA to see what the NBA is about.”

He added that the reception his team gets from fans is an added bonus.

“Every time we go, the Jewish community comes out to the games, we see Israeli flags, and people shouting in Hebrew. It’s very nice, it’s very fun. It’s heartwarming to see the welcome.”

Almost 16,000 people came out for the game, many of whom were waving Israeli flags and were cheering for Maccabi Haifa, the 2013-14 Israeli Basketball Super League runner-up to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Although Maccabi Haifa trailed for most of the game, two back-to-back turnovers in the fourth quarter cost the Raptors the lead. Maccabi Haifa was up by five points with less than four minutes left in the game, but the Raptors stepped up their defensive game and went on a 16-0 run to get the win.

Despite the loss, Maccabi Haifa head coach Rami Hadar said he was happy with the way his team played.

“It took us some time in the first quarter to get into the game, but then we played good defence that gave us the option to run fast breaks and finish easy lay ups. I think at the end, they elevated their level of defence, and we couldn’t get into the spots we wanted to get to and to their credit, they are a better team, better talent,” Hadar said.

“I think we played well, we played tough. Especially in the second half, from the middle of the third quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter, we played, I think, the best basketball we’ve played this season.”

Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, who turned over the ball four times in his 18 minutes on the court, said the number of turnovers was likely what kept the game so close.

“We had 25, 26 turnovers… they were gunning for the ball every time, they were coming out big. It was very unconventional compared to the normal style of basketball we play against,” DeRozan said.

“When you’re out there you have to make adjustments on the fly, because that’s a style we’re not used to playing.”

Benjamin Ohana, who was cheering for Maccabi Haifa mostly because he wanted to show his support for Israel, said he was impressed with the team’s play.

“Against a professional [NBA] team, I think they’re doing all right. They’re staying in the game and that’s what matters. They’re playing with their hearts,” he said.

“I hope people see that they are a good team and they shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s a fun team to watch and it’s always fun to have international matches.”

The game was played just hours after news broke about the shooting on Parliament Hill. In addition to heightened security, a moment of silence was observed before tipoff.

Reacting to the news out of Ottawa, Hadar said, “for us, we’re used to stuff like this… [but] this happening in [Canada] is a little strange. We sympathize with the victims – we know how they feel.”