After Hapoel Tel Aviv lost the championship series to Maccabi Tel Aviv, falling 83-79 in Game 4, owner Ofer Yanai launched a sharp attack on Israeli basketball institutions. Yanai said his team did not compete on equal terms throughout the playoffs and accused supposedly neutral bodies of acting against Hapoel. He also said he plans to push for deep changes in the sport this summer.
Yanai said, "There is everything terrible in Israeli basketball and everything wonderful in it," calling the series a strong playoff battle between two EuroLeague teams that were both short-handed and forced to find solutions. But he quickly turned to criticism, saying Hapoel faced a "headwind" from institutions that should be objective. He cited examples including alleged sideline instructions to referees by Ami Biton, restrictions on him standing during the game, and other incidents he said proved the competition was unfair.
He argued that the league should allow a truly even contest, saying that only then would the champion be able to be proud and the loser say, "I lost, but I lost at basketball, not because of other things." Yanai also rejected any coaching change, saying Dimitris Itoudis will stay on, praising his loyalty to the club and to Israel during a difficult period. He added that Hapoel wants to keep most of the roster and bring in more players.
Yanai said he does not want to give up on Israeli basketball, but does intend to devote much of his energy this summer to ensuring that, when the new season begins, the sport’s leadership will be filled by "worthy" people rather than those making personal calculations. He said the playoff featured errors and distortions, from a missed three-pointer by Yam Madar to disputed non-ejections and an Israeli Basketball Association prosecutor who, he claimed, acted selectively. "The time has come to call bullshit by its name," he said, adding that cleaning up the system is more important than winning another title or cup. On the decision to return to the Drive In arena, Yanai called it "tragic," but said Hapoel will respect the community’s choice and play there, possibly with some games at Menora.
