Maccabi Tel Aviv Clinch Record 58th Israeli Basketball Title

Maccabi Tel Aviv won the Israeli Basketball Premier League championship for the 58th time on Tuesday night, sealing the best-of-five final 3-1 over city rival Hapoel Tel Aviv. The title comes one season after the league ended without an official champion, when Maccabi and Hapoel Jerusalem finished 1-1 in the final series.

For Maccabi, this is its 58th national crown and its first double since 2021, after also winning the cup earlier this year. Coach Oded Katash captured the fourth championship of his coaching career, moving ahead of Yannis Sfairopoulos and tying Shimon Shelach for sixth place on the all-time coaches list. Guard John DiBartolomeo, meanwhile, celebrated his seventh title in Israel, joining only six players who had previously reached that mark.

Hapoel Tel Aviv, which invested more than ever this season and had early talk of a possible EuroLeague title, finished with no trophies. The club lost the league final decisively, was eliminated in the State Cup quarterfinals after a 93-83 home defeat to Hapoel Jerusalem, and although it reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals and secured another season in the top division, it still fell short of its ambitions.

The article also portrayed the season as one of the hardest the league has faced, citing criticism over competitiveness, the lack of a distinctly Israeli identity, rule changes during the year, and near-end-of-season transfer moves. This season was further marred by a strike by Israeli players, which left league games without any Israeli players on the court, something the piece described as a black mark on the sport.