Hapoel Tel Aviv Opens Finals With Its Worst Scoring Start of the Season

Hapoel Tel Aviv got off to a disastrous start in the Israeli league playoff final against its biggest rival on Tuesday evening, falling behind 25-16 after the first quarter and trailing 49-34 at halftime. The opening 10 minutes produced the team’s lowest first-quarter scoring output of the season in the Premier League under Dimitris Itoudis.

Before this game, Hapoel’s worst league first quarter had been 17 points, which it scored against Hapoel Raanana in round 4 and Elitzur Netanya in round 14, both matches it eventually won. In the EuroLeague, its previous low for a first quarter was 14 points against Anadolu Efes, a game Hapoel also won.

The team also opened the game with four turnovers in the first 10 minutes, underscoring its offensive struggles. Vasilije Micic was the clearest symbol of Hapoel’s poor first-half showing, finishing the break with no points, 0-for-4 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and five turnovers.

The article, published at 21:39 on June 16, 2026, frames the performance as a record low for the season but notes that Hapoel had still won previous games in which it posted similar first-quarter struggles.