Maccabi Tel Aviv Stops Skid with Winner Cup Semifinal Victory

Maccabi Tel Aviv secured a crucial 88-71 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem in the Winner Cup semifinals on Sunday, halting a difficult period for the team. The win sets up a final against their city rivals, Maccabi Tel Aviv, on November 9th, marking the third derby match between the two clubs in less than two weeks. The team expressed satisfaction with multiple aspects of the performance, particularly the return to form and confidence shown by several players after a slump. Keaton Wallace anchored the team in the first half with 8 points, while Elijah, who exploded for 14 points in the final quarter, helped Maccabi pull away with a decisive 29-17 run against a tough Jerusalem squad.

"There are many good things to take from this game, but we need to understand that every game has its own life," a club representative stated. "We cannot think that because we won one game, it means we will step onto the court in the next game and explode again. We showed resilience in the first half by not letting Jerusalem get away and finish the game, and in the second half, we got a lot from many players, which is definitely encouraging."

Keaton Wallace commented on the team's improved focus in the second half, noting, "In the first half, we were still trying to find our rhythm, find our flow, and then it happened. And then in the second half, we just started to move forward and started to play our basketball. We had a tough start in the EuroLeague, and we had to come, be focused, and ready. We had a good briefing this morning, a good shooting practice this morning, we watched video, and we also executed the plan against their players tonight."

Wallace emphasized the need for continued focus and intensity in their upcoming game against Milan in Belgrade on Thursday. "We have to stay focused. We have to continue the momentum, continue with the intensity. You know, we are starting to play much better, playing our basketball, and we just have to keep it up," he said.

T.J. Leaf added that the team played more cohesively on defense and fought harder, stating, "We played them as the game progressed. Everyone likes to say every game is a must-win game. Ultimately, we only just started the season, we haven't even started the Israeli league at all. Obviously, we want to win as many games as possible, we are not pressing the panic button yet. There are some new guys here. It will take some time to connect both on offense and defense, but I think the fight that we all had, that's what we were really looking for in the second half. Things take time to connect, but the fight is what we really wanted to see."

Maccabi hopes that Daniel Theis, who missed recent games due to ankle sensitivity, will return to practice this week and be available for the game against Milan. The team will proceed cautiously with Theis, hoping he can overcome the injury. Captain John DiBartolomeo is also expected to rejoin the team this week for the EuroLeague game, having missed losses to Besiktas and Panathinaikos, as well as Sunday's win.