Kats outfoxes Itoudis as Maccabi takes commanding Finals lead

Maccabi Tel Aviv moved a big step closer to its 58th championship on Thursday night, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 102-98 in a wild Game 2 of the finals. The win came in one of the most dramatic games of the season and gave Maccabi a major advantage in the series.

Hapoel’s Yam Madar delivered a huge individual performance with 34 points and 10 assists, but it was not enough. Maccabi answered with strong outings from Iffe Lundberg, Roman Sorkin and Oshae Brissett, and the team found a way to win despite operating with what the panel described as its shortest roster of the season.

Channel 5 analysts Gur Shelef and Ofir Shelach said coach Oded Kats was the one who ultimately surprised Dimitris Itoudis. Shelef said Itoudis initially tried to counter Sorkin by starting Ish Wainright on him defensively, which worked early, but then Kats switched to a zone defense that caught Hapoel off guard. He added that Hapoel scored 98 but still failed defensively, and that the absence of players such as Vasilije Micic and Johnathan Motley left Madar carrying too much of the load.

Shelach said Kats did “huge work” managing minutes, fouls and tactics, and getting the most out of every player. He pointed to contributions from John DiBartolomeo, Will Rayman and others, while emphasizing that Maccabi had leaders both on the bench and on the court. Despite the loss, Shelef said he was not yet ready to close out the series.