Maccabi Tel Aviv won the Israeli Basketball Premier League title for the 58th time on Tuesday night, closing the final series 3-1 against city rival Hapoel Tel Aviv. The yellow and blue club wrapped up the championship one season after the league ended without an official winner, when Maccabi and Hapoel Jerusalem finished the final tied 1-1.
This title also gives Maccabi its first double since 2021, after the team had already won the domestic cup earlier this year. Coach Oded Katash earned the fourth championship of his coaching career, moving ahead of the tie with Janis Sfairopoulos and matching Shimon Shelach for sixth place on the all-time list of most decorated coaches.
On the player side, John DiBartolomeo won his seventh Israeli championship and joined a very short list of only six players who had reached that mark before him: Zohar Cohen, Amnon Abidan, Arik Mankin, Eli Koren, Gur Shelef and Yotam Halperin.
Hapoel Tel Aviv, which invested more than ever before and even spoke at the start of the season about winning the EuroLeague, ends the campaign with no trophies. The club was also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the State Cup after a 93-83 home loss to Hapoel Jerusalem, and its biggest achievement was reaching the EuroLeague quarterfinals and securing another season in the top continental competition. The league itself ended after what the article calls one of its hardest seasons, marked by criticism over competitiveness, instability, late roster moves and a players’ strike involving Israeli players. The piece says the absence of Israeli players on the court was a black mark for everyone connected to the sport.
