Appeal Granted: Hapoel Tel Aviv Awarded Technical Win Over Jerusalem, Takes 2-0 Series Lead

Major drama in Israeli basketball: The Basketball Association’s court accepted Hapoel Tel Aviv’s appeal on Thursday and ruled that Hapoel Jerusalem would be handed a technical loss in the first game of the playoff semifinal series. As a result, the Tel Aviv Reds took a 2-0 lead in the series and are now just one win away from reaching the final.

As recalled, the first game between the teams was stopped at the start of the fourth quarter because of the security situation, after Hapoel Jerusalem players refused to return to the court to complete the contest. In its initial ruling, the court decided that the game would be resumed and played again, contrary to the position of the association’s prosecutor and the league administration, who believed a technical win should be awarded to Hapoel Tel Aviv.

However, after Hapoel Tel Aviv filed an appeal, and with additional support from a recommendation by the association’s prosecutor and the league administration, the court decided to change its ruling and award Jerusalem a technical loss. The decision stated that responsibility for the game’s suspension lay solely with the Jerusalem-based team.

"We note the obvious: the result of the game is not determined by this court," the ruling said. "The result of the game was determined by Jerusalem, which chose to disregard the decisions of the game officials and took the law into its own hands. It was not the 'green table' that decided, but rather the abandonment of the court."

The judges emphasized that after the disciplinary court had already ruled in the past that Jerusalem was solely responsible for the suspension of the game and convicted it accordingly, there was in fact no other option but to rule a technical loss. "Having determined in no uncertain terms that Jerusalem is solely responsible for the suspension of the game, convicted it and passed sentence, the disciplinary court had to rule a technical loss for Jerusalem in accordance with Section 22 of the disciplinary regulations," the ruling said.

The immediate meaning of the decision is that Hapoel Tel Aviv now holds a 2-0 lead in the series, and tonight’s game at 20:50 in Menora Mivtachim Arena could send it to the playoff final.