Maccabi Tel Aviv will try tonight, Tuesday, to seal the Israeli championship when it meets Hapoel Tel Aviv in Game 4 of the final series. Maccabi leads the best-of-five 2-1, and a win would give it the club’s 58th national title.
Two days ago, Maccabi had its first chance to close out the series at a packed home crowd, a scene not seen since February, when it was still hosting EuroLeague games. But it failed to finish the job, and now enters the matchup under heavy pressure, aware that the result could shape the entire series.
A victory would spark title celebrations, while a loss would level the series and force a decisive final game. Inside the club, the message was clear: “Of course we already want to do it and complete our main mission this season. We were not there in the last game, and we will have to look different to stand properly. We do not want to get into trouble and lose a lead again.”
The team felt a drop in performance in the previous game, with fatigue affecting some players and hurting its pace, energy, and overall level. Maccabi has used the same roster in all three games so far, while still dealing with a short bench because of injuries.
Coach Oded Katash and his staff are considering a roster change before tipoff, possibly registering Lonnie Walker in place of one player. Walker has not played in the last six games, which complicates the decision, and for now the tendency is to stick with the original roster and lineup.
