That was what LaToya Pringle and Tamara James yelled out seconds after the buzzer that marked Ramat Hen's first title in 25 years. Ramat Hen's ecstatic joy from winning the cup and getting a big monkey off their backs, and Ramat Hasharon's disappointment after leading by 15 before losing their 3rd straight cup final. All the post game quotes and some photos – inside!
Photos by: Motti Klinger
Edni Dagan
"God wanted us to win. Ramat Hasharon were able to disrupt our game even though I expected them to emphasize Ivory & LaToya, they did it better than I expected. All week I've been explaining to the players that it'll be a week with extreme ups and downs. Fatigue makes the head less strong and they understood that and I'm happy.
Bringing Latta paid off big time, I couldn't be happier. I'm just exhausted. The players deserve a lot of credit for showing such heart and believing. The way they wouldn’t break, the way they're willing to go with me and believe in me. Down 15 I told them it's our game, and they believed. I'd rather win by 15, no doubt, but this is sweeter. We showed amazing character, all these players have tremendous character, and they did everything they could and they believed".
Ivory Latta
"We came through. We played hard. We were down by a lot but we came together as a team and got the win.
I've been battling a virus, it came on me last night, I'm feeling very weak right now. I was trying to get my teammates to do as much as they could but then coach got on me, and I was like just give me some fluids! To be honest I couldn’t really feel anything but once I got the ball in my hands I knew I had to make something happen. I looked up and I knew I had more time, usually I'd take a three but in my head I just heard my teammates say "Ivory go! Go! Go!" so I went and just so happens I made the shot".
Sharon Zeevi
"Ramat Hasharon gave us a great game, I have a lot of friens there, especially Nomi who I really feel for.
After many disappointments I have no words to describe this joy. I've been here four years, Ramat Hen is my home. The staff believed in us and the players are amazing. We showed character today, we didn't break. Finally… it's like 50 tons have been lifted off my back. It was worth every minute.
Edni told me yesterday that he needs me and I got my chance because LaToya had foul trouble. I'm happy for this team, it's an amazing moment. I can hang up my shoes now, go home, relax. There's a bunch of amazing girls here, with heart and character, I'm speechless. It's all mental and we think we're better than them and we proved it today. Latta is an amazing winner, big props to her. She took one hell of a shot, and that's why they brought her".
LaToya Pringle
"The curse is over! The curse is over! We won the cup! We won the cup!
It's Christmas and all I wanted was a win, that's the only thing that can make up for missing Christmas with my family. I think a lot of my fouls were clean blocks but I'm not going to complain. It was hard battling with Ebony [Hoffman] and all their posts, I'm not the biggest player in the world, I just tried my hardest and I'm tired and ready to go home. After I fouled out Tamara [James] came over and said 'we're gonna win this one for you'. In the last two minutes I don’t think Ramat Hasharon got any offensive rebounds, they did so well".
Tamara James
"I'm just so happy we won, I don't know what happened. It wasn't a pretty game for us, I will say that, a lot of credit to Ramat Hasharon who played us really well. We struggled a bit for three and a half quarters but we really showed character and we really showed that we wanted it. We were just determined. This is the best Christmas present I could have since I'm away from home. I'll go home tomorrow, tonight we gotta celebrate!"
Michal Epstein
"We have an amazing team, it's not even about basketball. Each player has character and the team as a whole. We don’t give up for one second. We played poorly today on both ends but we didn’t stop believing for one second. Edni, other than being an amazing coach, told us in every timeout that we're winning this game. After Nomi's three I was a little shocked, but there aren't enough words to describe Latta. Forget the fact she's been here a week, she's an amazing player and a true winner and she was sick yesterday and today. I'm happy for her and happier for the club".
Orna Ostfeld
"I want to congratulate Ramat Hen and Edni who led the team to victory. I can only ask myself what I'm doing here. It's not fun to lose by one when you lead through out the game, there's a big void in my heart now. I want to thank my players who stepped up today and played great basketball, every single one. Even though Erin got hurt and she's a key player, it didn’t really affect the game. Nomi stepped right in and everyone gave it their all and we led for most of the game. We made one mistake which cost us the cup. This isn’t the end for Ramat Hasharon, this will give us new energy. We believe in the team and we'll do everything to win the championship".
Liad Suez Karni
"There's not much to say. This is the most painful way to lose. I'm very proud of the girls, today was actually one of our better games but we had some mistakes which led to the momentum change and we ended up losing a 12 point lead in 3-4 minutes. But I told the girls my first championship with Ramat Hasharon was after losing the cup to Raanana just like this, and it made us stronger and we won an amazing championship. I hope that'll happen this year as well, this will drive us to end the year with a championship which is the most important thing. All credit to Ramat Hen, they got back in the game and Latta hit an amazing shot".
Rafi Bogatin
"It's a very tough feeling, but live by a point die by a point. At the end we made the same mistake we did against Raanana Hertzelia, only this time Latta got the ball in the rim. It happens, such is life, and I think our players did a good job".
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Pringle, James, Latta
Photo by: Motti Klinger |