Hapoel Tel Aviv is preparing for Game 2 of the Israeli Basketball League finals against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday, June 17, 2026, after being routed in the series opener. The team wants to level the best-of-five series at 1-1 and avoid repeating the poor showing from Game 1.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis said the team did not approach the first game with the right mentality. “We did not come into the first game with the right mindset. We have no right to be like that,” he said. “This is a final, against a very experienced opponent, a team with enormous motivation. They came to play and we did not match the level required for a final.” He said Hapoel will be more physical, make several strategic changes, and be better prepared. He also apologized to the fans, saying they helped a lot but the team did not rise to the needed level, and urged supporters to fill the arena and lift the team to another level.
Tomer Ginat began by expressing condolences to the Shegev family. He said he was fine physically, but noted that he had been out for almost four months and is not at 100 percent. Ginat said the team conceded too many points off turnovers and offensive rebounds in the previous game, adding that concentration and aggression must improve from the start.
He stressed that the series is still long, with the finals played in a best-of-five format, and said Hapoel needs to play differently on Thursday if it wants to make its fans proud.
