By Amy Samin<\/FONT> \u201cI\u2019m responsible for the losses; I get paid money so there will be someone to blame for the losses. \u201cIt went well for Galil, they played well. \u201cOded has the ability and the luck of a champion, which is important for his career. \u201cGilboa Galil truly deserves congratulations,\u201d said the disappointed chairman of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv Shimon Mizrahi<\/B> after the game, \u201cbecause they played so well in the second half. Another of Maccabi\u2019s owners, David Federman<\/B>, talked about the championship loss: \u201cGalil played very well in the second half, and they\u2019re the champions. \u201cI congratulate Oded and Galil, like I already did out on the court,\u201d said team captain Derrick Sharp<\/B> after the game. \u201cI\u2019m devastated,\u201d said Andrew Wisniewski<\/B>. Chuck Eidson<\/B> said, \u201cWe have to be stronger. \u201cOur shots didn\u2019t go in,\u201d said David Bluthenthal<\/B>.
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Part of what happened is my fault,\u201d said Maccabi head coach Pini Gershon<\/B> after the loss of the game and championship title Thursday night.
\u201cThere was more than a little missing during this season, and we paid for it tonight.
I\u2019ve been added to the disreputable list of coaches who have lost the championship with Maccabi.
There were a lot of signs during the game, and we felt them.\u201d <\/FONT>
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I hope that this time good things will come out of it for them, not like the last time they took the championship,\u201d Gershon added.
\u201cGalil did it well; it wasn\u2019t like Holon\u2019s one-point victory (in the championship game two years ago).
I\u2019ll do everything I can to see that we\u2019re stronger and that the things that happened won\u2019t happen again.
I really like Oded.
The fact that he didn\u2019t invite me to play cards, that makes me mad.\u201d<\/FONT>
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All season Galil has had outstanding third periods.
We played against Kadir; that was our tactic.
It doesn\u2019t always work.
We scored a few great three pointers against them and that\u2019s it.
I looked at the statistics, and Galil has a 30 point advantage in the ranking, which tells you that they were better.\u201d<\/FONT>
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We\u2019re left with a bitter taste in our mouths after a regular season in which we won 20 games, and coming into the Final after an excellent semi-final game.
Anything can happen in one game.\u201d<\/FONT>
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I wish them good luck, they did a great job.
I feel like what we said would happen always happens; with this system (a one game final), once every two to three years we\u2019re going to lose the championship.<\/FONT>
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\u201cThat\u2019s what happens with this Final Four system.
In one game, anything can happen.
You have to do everything right and that\u2019s a lot of pressure.
That\u2019s the Final Four.\u201d <\/FONT>
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\u201cI\u2019ve worked hard all year; we\u2019ve worked hard all year to be in this position.
I think we\u2019re the best team by far and away in the league, and it comes down to one game and we weren\u2019t allowed to prove that.
I still think we had a successful season, we still worked hard, we still gave everything we had, day in and day out.
I love my teammates and I\u2019m proud to be here with them.\u201d<\/FONT>
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We should\u2019ve won.
It\u2019s only one game and anything can happen.
I know the history; I know what it means when Maccabi loses the championship.
We didn\u2019t do our jobs.
Everyone expected that we would win, but we didn\u2019t.
We need to keep our heads up.\u201d<\/FONT>
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\u201cI personally missed more than a few.\u201d
When asked if Gilboa Galil wanted the win more, <\/B>Bluthenthal responded, \u201cNo, they didn\u2019t want it more. They had the refs on their side.
You know, there was a lot of phantom calls.
We made a run, we hit a three and cut it to four and they called a foul.\u201d
When asked if he thought Maccabi lost because of the referees, Bluthenthal said, \u201cI think that was part of it.
Like I said before in the Bnei Hasharon series; same situation.
In the last game, against Netanya, we were able to make shots and it was out of their hands; and you know, we didn\u2019t make them tonight.
We need to move on and think about next season.\u201d<\/FONT>
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