Maccabi Tel Aviv Advances to Winner Cup Final After Beating Hapoel Jerusalem

Maccabi Tel Aviv bounced back from a difficult EuroLeague week to defeat Hapoel Jerusalem 88-71 in the Winner Cup semifinals held in Holon on Sunday. The victory sets up a final clash with Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Maccabi overcame a double-digit deficit, with Oshae Brissett, Roman Sorkin, and Jalen Adams leading the comeback. In the final quarter, Iffe Lundberg stepped up to help secure the win for coach Oded Katash's team, easing some pressure ahead of their upcoming EuroLeague game against Milan.

Following the game, Roman Sorkin called for patience, stating, "Jerusalem is a very aggressive and high-quality team in recent years, we struggled. I'm happy we pulled away in the end. We played well, we needed this win. It's the beginning of the season, we have a certain way we are learning, we need to improve game by game and learn day by day because there aren't many practices."

Sorkin added that the win was crucial as it leads to a title. He acknowledged that the team isn't playing at its best in October, despite increased expectations due to continuity. "We can't be satisfied with the losses, but we also can't lose our heads and stop believing in ourselves. We need to learn from this, play with confidence, and trust this system. It's a long process, I believe in everyone and I hope we will laugh about this at the end of the year."