Hapoel Tel Aviv Makes Roster Change for Game 3 of the Finals

Hapoel Tel Aviv will play Game 3 of the playoff final against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sunday at 8:50 p.m. trailing 2-0 in the series. A Maccabi win would clinch the Israeli championship, while Hapoel must win to force a fourth game.

The biggest absentee for Hapoel is center Dan Oturu. He returned to Israel last week and took part in several practices, but the club decided not to risk him after consulting with the medical staff. Team officials said bringing him back too soon could lead to a more serious injury, so he will remain out of the squad.

Without Oturu, the load inside is expected to fall mainly on Jonathan Motley and Tai Odiase. Odiase played well in Game 2 despite a shoulder injury, and the club is hoping Motley can improve after two relatively poor performances.

Coach Dimitris Itoudis also made a roster change by registering Kyandre Cook instead of guard Chris Jones, in hopes of adding energy for the most important game of the season so far. Maccabi made no changes, with Lonnie Walker out of the squad for a fifth straight game, alongside Marcio Santos and David Eppiani. Coach Oded Katash will stick with the same roster that delivered the first two wins in the series.