Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 96-75 on Tuesday night at Menora Mivtachim Arena to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Israeli playoff final. Oded Katash’s team continued its long dominance in city rivalry finals and preserved a perfect 11-0 record against Hapoel in championship series. Hapoel will try to level the series in the next game as it chases its first title since 1969.
The final is Maccabi’s path toward a 58th domestic championship, after last season ended without a champion because of the war with Iran, leaving Maccabi as the de facto defending champion. The matchup is the fourth between the clubs in the playoffs in the last five seasons, and three of those meetings were final series. This is the 12th time the two have met in the playoff final.
The game was also played against the backdrop of the Loney Walker controversy. Katash decided not to register the American guard for the roster, citing professional reasons, and Walker reacted with two sharp posts on social media. His omission has raised questions because he is one of Maccabi’s leading players and reportedly the highest-paid player in club history.
On the court, Maccabi started strongly and built an early 14-9 lead behind Jaylen Hoard. Ouz Blayzer cut the gap to two with a three-pointer, but Hoard and Roman Sorkin pushed the margin back to 19-12, forcing Dimitris Itoudis to call timeout. Zac Hankins then delivered a dunk after an offensive-rebound sequence, and Maccabi led 25-16 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Maccabi stretched the lead to double figures before Chris Jones and Jonathan Motley pulled Hapoel within 28-25, but Jimmy Clark and Hoard answered to restore control. Yam Madar scored his first points about five minutes before halftime, and Maccabi went into the break ahead 49-34.
