Hapoel Tel Aviv Treats Game 4 as Must-Win After Cutting Final Deficit to 2-1

Hapoel Tel Aviv will host Maccabi Tel Aviv tomorrow at 8:50 p.m. in Game 4 of the best-of-five Israeli league final, with the series now at 2-1 after Hapoel kept its championship hopes alive by winning Game 3 on Sunday. The team knows another defeat would end its title bid.

Coach Dimitris Itoudis said after the final practice that Hapoel still sees itself as the underdog. “We are still down one game, not the favorites but the underdog, and we have to play like that,” he said. He added that both during the regular season and in the series, the team has shown “one of the best defenses,” and that when players stay focused, “things happen and mistakes can be corrected.”

Tomer Ginat addressed his physical condition and a recent on-court incident with Oshae Brissett. Ginat said he is in “a complicated health condition” and is trying to recover between games despite having little time. On the Brissett episode, he said it was “game emotions” and that such moments can happen when everyone is trying to be aggressive and “protect our honor.” He called Thursday’s game “a survival game.”

Ginat also said Hapoel knows Roman Sorkin well and that it cannot expect Maccabi’s big man to stay scoreless again. He said if Hapoel holds Maccabi to 74 points, it can win again. Guard Guy Palatin said the team did its job in the last game and will try to do the same at home, noting extensive video preparation and stressing that Maccabi is very aggressive on the boards. He said Hapoel must improve its rebounding, even though Maccabi still grabbed many offensive rebounds.