Maccabi Tel Aviv 
Hapoel Jerusalem Maccabi Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Hapoel Jerusalem
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
20:45: Maccabi against Jerusalem
The Yellow & Blue will face Oded Katash's squad at the Holon Arena in the Winner Cup finals (Live on 5Live). Sfairpoulos: "Hopefully, this game will help us be more prepared for the Euroleague"
After reaching the Winner Cup finals with the victory Thursday over Ironi Nahariya, Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv will play for the title Saturday night against Hapoel Jerusalem in Holon Arena (20:45, Live on channel 5Live).
“This game is going to be great for us”, declared coach Giannis Sfairpoulos at the press conference after the win over the purples in the semi-finals. “Jerusalem is our toughest opponent, with all due respect to the different teams around the league. I hope this game will help us be more prepared for the start of the EuroLeague”.
The greek coach spoke about the workload his team has been through the past week: “We played four games in 6 days and the opponents only two. I’m not counting this as an excuse, we play for Maccabi Tel Aviv, and we have to play every day and perform the best we can. We have to learn how to play back to back games, and we need to be ready and perform well after a big win or a big loss”.
The Israeli champion and the State Cup holder met six times in the Winner Cup finals, as both sides won the title three times. Maccabi holds the record for the most wins in the Winner Cup finals, ending up with 7 titles out of their 10 appearances. On the other hand, Jerusalem won the title 4 times, the last one in 2016.
Hapoel Jerusalem reached the Winner Cup finals after beating Nes Ziona 94:88. Suleiman Braimoh the center that came over this past summer from Hapoel Eilat finished as the top scorer with 19 points. Tamir Blatt added 17 (5-11 from 3), Trent Lockett 15 & 11 rebounds and J’Covan Brown ended up with 11 points & 5 assists.
Jerusalem beats Maccabi 84:83
The Reds won their fifth Winner Cup after a thrilling final. Elijah Bryant led Maccabi with 18 points, Caspi 14. Next Up: Khimki Moscow
Scored for Maccabi: Elijah Bryant 18 points, 7 rebounds & 4 turnovers, Omri Casspi 14 points, 5 rebounds & 3 steals, Scottie Wilbekin 11 points & 7 assists, Tarik Black 10 points & 5 rebounds, Yovel Zoosman 9 points, Jake Cohen 8 points, Nate Wolters 6 points & 5 assists, Quincy Acy 5 points, Deni Avdija 2 points and John DiBartolomeo played but didn’t score. Scored for Jerusalem: James Feldeine 21, Suleiman Braimoh 16.
Elijah Bryant led Maccabi scorers with 18 points and a great second half, and Omri Casspi contributed with 14 points. The two starting guards, Scottie Wilbekin finished the night with 11 points & 7 assists as Wolters provided efficient minutes.
Now, Giannis Sfairopoulos squad will start their preparations towards their first official game of the season: Road game against Khimki Moscow Next Thursday on the EuroLeague’s Opening day.
Game recap
Giannis Sfairopoulos placed Nate Wolters, Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Omri Caspi and Tarik Black in his starting five. Jerusalem opened the game with a quick 5:0 and continued to 9:2. After the slow start, points by Casspi and Yovel Zoosman that came off the bench put the Reds lead at 18:11. James Feldeine sank two straight threes to increase the lead to double digits 26:15 that made coach Sfairopoulos call his second time out of the quarter. By the end of the first, Maccabi was able to reduce the score to single digits with a three-pointer by Jake Cohen, Jerusalem led 28:20 after one quarter.
With the start of the second quarter, Tamir Blatt hit a shot behind the arc to increase the lead back to 11 points, but Zoosman and Cohen cut the lead to six, 35:29. Nate Wolters led Maccabi to a 6:0 run at the end of the first half, to tie the game at 46:46.
Scottie Wilbekin scored in the paint to give Maccabi their first lead of the day. The Yellow & Blue stayed on top throughout the quarter, but the Reds didn’t give up and reduced Maccabi’s lead to 2, 65:63.
Elijah Bryant with five straight points in the first minute of the fourth gave the Yellow & Blue a 7 point advantage, 70:63. Oded Katash’s squad came out great out of the timeout and tied the game at 72, on the other end, Acy and Bryant hit two three-pointers to give Maccabi the lead, 78:72. But then, Jerusalem with a 10:0 run, took the lead two minutes to the final whistle. Tarik Black blocked Brahimo 42.9 seconds to the end, but the referees decided to approve the basket (84:81 reds). The Yellow’s Center hit both free throws, but it wasn’t enough. Jerusalem wins in dramatic fashion 84:83.
