Maccabi Tel Aviv won the Israeli championship for the 58th time, but this title run came in an unusual and difficult season. The yellow-and-blue were not the favorites going into the final series against Hapoel Tel Aviv, after a turbulent year, and the decisive moment came when Roman Sorkin hit a huge clutch three-pointer to close out what he described as a nightmare game for himself.
After the game, Sorkin said, “It’s so good to win the championship after this season. It is sweet, thank you to the fans, we heard them every minute, and sorry for the last game and a half.” Maccabi chairman Shimon Mizrahi added, “I do not know if there is a precedent for something like this. It shows the commitment and the tradition of the club. I have always said that our bread and butter is the championship and the cup.”
Coach Oded Kattash said the title was perhaps his most emotional one. “Especially after what we went through this year,” he said. “I have been struggling for three days and waiting for the next game. I really have men as players and staff, who do not just coach, they also have to lift me sometimes.”
Lorenzo Brown’s teammate Lonnie Walker also took a swipe at the rival from Tel Aviv, saying, “You know whose arena this is, this is Maccabi’s arena, it was and it will be. Look at the history made here. All the talk after they won the previous game. Bring the trophy first. We are with 2 of 3 titles this season, they are with 0 of 3.” Wenyen Gabriel said he was proud of the team after “all the bullshit” of the season, mentioning Serbia and Tel Aviv, while Iffe Lundberg said it had not been easy to compete through the many difficulties and that the team returned “to finish the job,” which it did.
