Hapoel Tel Aviv will play Game 3 of the Israeli playoff final tonight, Sunday at 8:50 p.m., trailing Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 and one loss away from ending its season. The team would need to beat Maccabi twice at a full Menora Hall to complete a comeback that would be unprecedented in a championship series, but the article says the odds are heavily against it. The game comes on June 21, eight months after Hapoel’s first official match of the season in the Winner Cup, and a domestic titleless finish would be considered a failure despite what was described as a successful EuroLeague campaign.
The main explanation for Hapoel’s weakened state is personnel absence. Kyle Edwards did not return to Israel, Colin Malcolm also stayed away after the EuroLeague season and was not registered for the playoffs, and Elijah Bryant and Antonio Blakeney are unavailable as well. Bryant underwent surgery this month, with the club saying the procedure could have been postponed until after the season but was brought forward so he would be ready as early as possible for next season’s EuroLeague. Blakeney was injured during the series against Real Madrid, had been expected back weeks ago, but has not been in Israel for two weeks since the brief escalation with Iran.
Dan Oturu is back in Israel but will not play tonight. Hapoel worked intensively for a month to bring the center back during the series against Hapoel Jerusalem, but after he left Israel again for almost another week because of the Iran-related events, the club decided not to risk him. Team officials said he missed exactly the week of training needed to make him playable, and that using him now would either require constant short bursts or risk a serious injury. In the club’s words, they would either have to endanger him or effectively enter the series with one fewer foreign player.
The article also says Hapoel’s broader approach made this situation predictable. Since the end of last season, the club prioritized the EuroLeague and operated with a split reality, relocating the team to Bulgaria while some Israelis were away for long stretches and foreigners played very little in the domestic league, including Oturu and Bryant. One senior figure admitted that the consequences were known in advance and that the club must live with them. The effect has reached the Israeli players too, with some frustrated after a season in which they were not central, although players like Guy Nates and Itay Segev have contributed more in the playoffs, while Tomer Ginat and Bar Timor are playing through injuries. Club officials say the missing foreigners are a management issue that should be solved at the ownership level, but for now the facts are that Bryant, Blakeney, Malcolm and Oturu are unavailable for the series.
