Maccabi Tel Aviv clipped Hapoel Tel Aviv 95-93 in overtime late Monday night to advance to the Israel State Cup final against Hapoel Jerusalem on Thursday night in the capital city.
This will mark the third straight year that the yellow-and-blue will tip-off against the Reds for the coveted trophy as Jerusalem will look to three-peat and celebrate the title once again on its home court in front of its fans.
In what was a close game throughout regulation time and the extra session, both teams left every ounce of blood sweat and tears on the court in what was a classic semifinal derby matchup that will go down in the annals of Israeli basketball history.
A play-by-play
Johnathan Motley and Tomer Ginat scored for Hapoel Tel Aviv early on while Roman Sorkin and Rokas Jokubaitis countered for Maccabi Tel Aviv as they grabbed a slim 27-25 after the opening quarter. Bruno Caboclo, Joe Ragland and Motley helped the Reds take the lead and open up a gap but Sorkin, Jokubatis and Will Rayman kept the yellow-and-blue close but down 46-44 at halftime.
Ginat and Madar again began to bump up the lead, but Levi Randolph and Jokubatis made sure to keep Oded Katash’s team hanging around but still in the hole (58-54) after 30 minutes.
Jokubatis and Madar went back-and-forth in the fourth quarter and while Randolph scored to give Maccabi a 2-point lead, Motley came out of a timeout and dunked to tie the contest up at 87-87 and send it to overtime.
Madar again was key for Dimitrios Itoudis’s team in the overtime period but a clutch Randolph basket and a free throw by John DiBartolomeo gave Maccabi the lead for good to send it to the title game.
Jokubatis scored 27 points and added 8 assists, Sorkin put in 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and Randolph chipped in with 21 points and 8 boards in the win. Madar scored 23 points and dished out 8 assists for Hapoel, while Ginat scored 19 points and Motley put in 15 points in the loss.
“We lost the last two Cup finals to Hapoel Jerusalem and it will be a battle against a very good team once again in the final,” Katash began. “We knew it was going to be aggressive and intense throughout, there were runs and we came back from that and showed a lot of character. There were a lot of hustle plays and it could have gone either way as Yam Madar had a chance to eliminate us twice but it was the guys who had so much character that gave us the win. This was an incredible game and I’m happy that we are on the right end.”
Daniella Gilboa, a soldier who was released by Hamas a couple of weeks ago, was in attendance at the game and was all smiles throughout the contest. Katash spoke passionately about the importance of having all of the remaining hostages return home.
“What we are going through as a country is huge and we are hearing about everything that is going on with the hostage releases. It’s crazy that there are people suffering as they are while we are playing basketball. We have to see everyone come back as quickly as possible and try to return to a normal life but we can only do that once every last hostage comes home.”
“This was a very interesting semifinal and it was very exciting for the Israeli fans and there was one day ago as well,” said Hapoel coach Itoudis. “I want to congratulate my players and I am proud of them. I have an empathy for the referees. But there were plays where the situation couldn’t be more clear. I don’t want to cry but we deserve better evaluation on crucial moments. We deserved the win.”
Randolph, who won back-to-back State Cups with Jerusalem before moving to Maccabi Tel Aviv, spoke about the win.“It’s going to be very emotional to play the State Cup final back in Jerusalem. The first time I played here for the title it was against Maccabi and then in Menora last year again. Now for the title I’m playing with Maccabi against Jerusalem. I will do everything I can to win. I want the guys to enjoy this experience and whatever I can do to help the team win is my goal.”
A disappointed Hapoel Tel Aviv captain Bar Timor looked back at the loss and addressed if Patrick Beverley would be welcomed back to the team like Johnathan Motley should his suspension be rescinded.
“To finish off the game isn’t easy and even when you are up double-digits it’s just not easy. We had chances to do it a couple of times. The referees decided this game, two fouls on Yam Madar at the last play and that decided the game. Any question about Patrick Beverley goes to management and not to me.”