Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 102-98 on Thursday at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Game 2 of the playoff final, moving to a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 will be played on Sunday at 8:50 p.m., with Maccabi hosting. Hapoel tried to hide its disappointment, but the emotions were obvious on the players’ faces, and coach Dimitris Itoudis was heard shouting in the locker room. The red club understands it now faces a must-win situation after a result it wanted to avoid.
Hapoel started brilliantly and opened a 14-0 lead, but Maccabi recovered, erased the shock and eventually took control. Yam Madar had a superb night with 34 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists in 35 minutes, but it was not enough for Itoudis’ team. Forward Oz Blayzer said, “The situation is hard. We will need to raise our level to win. The series is still open and we believe we can change the situation.”
On the other side, Maccabi was delighted, especially given its very short rotation of only eight players. In the closing minutes, Jimmy Clark fouled out and Leondberg was carrying four fouls, adding to the pressure on the yellow team. Before the series, the staff had warned the players that every man would need to rise to the occasion because of the roster constraints.
That is what happened. Leondberg led Maccabi with 25 points, Roman Sorkin added 21, and O'Shay Brissett finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Coach Oded Kattash said, “We got through a difficult game. We knew they would respond and it also started very badly for us with the 0-14. We went through two crises in this game, the first was the one-sided start and the second was at the end with Clark and Leondberg’s fouls. We were short in the guards and it made managing the game very difficult. We won with a lot of heart and showed character.” Kattash also praised Brissett as “excellent for us” and said his intensity is “at the level of top EuroLeague players.” After the game, Maccabi quickly tried to keep the players grounded, with Leondberg, Clark and Hord already in the gym minutes after the final buzzer, while the rest headed to the showers without much celebrating. The club’s message was clear, “We must not think it is over.”
