Hapoel Tel Aviv falls behind 2-0 as Itoudis leaves angry interview but stays hopeful

Hapoel Tel Aviv was trying to respond after a heavy loss in Game 1 of the Israeli league final against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but after a strong start it collapsed in the third quarter and lost 102-98. The defeat leaves the best-of-series final at 2-0 to the yellow-clad Maccabi side, which can clinch the championship on Sunday. For Ofer Yannay’s expensive project, it is again heading toward a season without a trophy.

Losing coach Dimitris Itoudis refused to sound defeated after the game. He said Hapoel had fought the way it wanted to in a game of this kind and argued the team was still alive in the series. “It is not over yet,” he said. “We believe we can come back, but it will be hard because it is 2-0. We will continue to work and believe.”

Itoudis also pointed to positives from the performance, saying Hapoel was better in many aspects, created good shots, made 16 three-pointers, and had good offensive flow. But when asked about the final timeout, which was handled by assistant coach Stefanos Dedas, he reacted angrily, saying, “That is how we work all the time.” He then walked out of the interview.