Itoudis apologizes after Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Game 1 loss to Maccabi

Hapoel Tel Aviv was beaten 90-80 by Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday night in the first game of the Israeli Basketball Premier League playoff final, falling behind 1-0 in the series. Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday, and Hapoel will try to respond there.

Head coach Dimitris Itoudis said the team did not represent its usual level. “I want to apologize to our fans,” he said. “The team we were tonight was not the real Hapoel Tel Aviv, we are worth much more than that. Our fans deserve to see a better team and a more committed team.”

Itoudis acknowledged Maccabi’s superiority in the opener, saying it won “deservedly,” but added that the series can still be turned around. Asked about the lineup of five foreign players for Game 2, he refused to reveal the plan. “We will not expose our plans, it is a secret, we prefer to keep our cards close to our chest,” he said.

Regarding Oturu, Itoudis said he did not yet know whether the player would feature in the second game. He said Oturu and all the foreign players will train, and the final decision on which foreigners will be registered will be made Thursday morning.