The yellows gave up the first title of the season with a 71:79 defeat. Brown scored 16. On Thursday: EuroLeague opening night against Partizan Belgrade in Tel Aviv
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv squandered a first half lead and lost in the Winner Cup finals on Sunday, with a 79:71 scoreline in favor of Hapoel Jerusalem. The yellows were without Wade Baldwin (back) who was injured during warmups, while Josh Nebo (foot) was hurt in the first half and only played 9 minutes.
Despite being short-handed, Maccabi controlled the game in the first half, leading by and many as 10 points thanks to an intense defensive effort and the scoring by Bonzie Colson. But a 6-point lead at halftime was quickly erased after the break, with Jerusalem taking control until the final buzzer.
Lorenzo Brown was Maccabi’s leading scorer with 16, while Colson and John DiBartolomeo each contributed 13. They could not make up for a disappointing shooting display by the Maccabees, with only 5 made three-pointers out of 24 tries.
Maccabi will look to bounce back on Thursday when the season officially kicks off, with Yad Eliyahu paying host to a EuroLeague encounter against Partizan Belgrade.
