Hapoel Tel Aviv Keeps Finals Alive, Forces Game 4 Against Maccabi

Hapoel Tel Aviv stayed alive in the Israeli Basketball League playoff final on Sunday with a 74-80 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, cutting the series deficit to 2-1 and pushing the deciding pressure into Game 4 on Tuesday at 20:50 at Menora Mivtachim Arena. Maccabi came into the game with a strong series lead but failed to close out the championship.

For long stretches, Maccabi looked rattled under the pressure. Coach Oded Katash repeatedly urged his players to calm down, while guard Iffe Lundberg gestured for teammates to slow the pace. The yellow team was hurt by a poor night from Roman Sorkin, who failed to score in 25 minutes, and by John DiBartolomeo, who finished with seven points, all in the first quarter, in 24 minutes.

Katash said after the game, "We wanted it very much, even in terms of effort, I have no complaint. The players wanted it very much, maybe even too much." He added, "It was decided by shots here and there, they made big baskets. It's a series, this is a series life, and now it is our duty to respond." Maccabi has been playing with only eight available players since injuries to Goral Levi and Tamir Blatt, and several players logged heavy minutes, including Lundberg and Oshae Brissett with 33 minutes each and Jalen Hoard with 32.

Brissett said, "This is not the time to be tired. That's what we are paid for, we have no place to be tired. We will need to play much better on Tuesday." There are also voices inside Maccabi suggesting Katash should register Lonnie Walker instead of Lundberg to give him rest if there is a Game 5, though Walker has not played since the semifinal series.

Hapoel coach Dimitris Itoudis said he was proud of the way his team responded. "To hold Maccabi to 74 points says a lot about our defense," he said. "We are down 2:1, but we are happy we showed character, that we have more fight in us, we have more fuel, we want to fight and play basketball. I am proud we kept believing and did not break." Hapoel’s Kianandre Cook, who replaced Chris Jones on the roster, said the team won through collective effort and is ready to go game by game, while the club said it hopes for a much better showing from fans after only 800 of the 1,000 tickets allocated by Maccabi were sold for Sunday’s game.