Sunday evenings contest is not just any matchup for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv as they face city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Winner League (21:00, live on Sport5 - Channel 55). The Yellow & Blue suffered a Friday afternoon defeat to Hapoel Gilboa/Galil as they'll attempt to beat the Reds for the second time this season after Giannis Sfairopoulos's unit came up on top with an 83:66 victory in the State Cup Quarter Finals earlier this month.

Maccabi is ranked second in the Israeli League standings with six wins and two losses, while Hapoel sits in 10th place, winning three out of nine games. Giannis Sfairopoulos's roster for Sunday includes Scottie Wilbekin, Angelo Caloiaro, Othello Hunter, Tyler Dorsey, John DiBartolomeo, Oz Blayzer, Dori Sahar, Ante Zizic, Eidan Alber, Jonathan Atias, and Yovel Zoosman.

"A derby is always a derby as we need to react after Friday's loss", Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos before Sunday's contest. "This game will be completely different from the last matchup against Hapoel in the State Cup, and I expect our players to be concentrated and ready to play a tough 40-minute game".

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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv marked their second derby win this season, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv on their home court, 85:69. The Yellow & Blue held a double-digit advantage midway through the second quarter and never looked back, dominating the Reds throughout all four quarters, improving their Israeli League record to 7:2.

Scottie Wilbekin was electric, knocking down 4 three-pointers, scoring 18 points in the first twenty minutes. The American guard concluded the night with 23 points, as Yovel Zoosman produced a fantastic performance with 13 points. Othello Hunter and Ante Zizic controlled the paint, Oz Blayzer and Angelo Caloiaro canceled the opponent's forwards as 7 Yellow & Blue players scored at least 8 points.



Game Recap:

Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Oz Blayzer, Angelo Caloiaro, and Ante Ziziz started for the Yellow & Blue, while Hapoel opened with Yam Madar, Bar Timor, Reggie Apshow, JP Tokoto, and Tyrique Jones.

Wilbekin, Zoosman, and Caloiaro hit three straight shots from behind the arc, opening an 11:4 advantage. Madar and Jones reduced the edge down to 3, but Othello Hunter came off the bench and immediately contributed, laying in back to back buckets. 

The Yellow & Blue continued to extend the lead as Caloiaro found a wide-open Dori Sahar, who drilled a corner triple giving Maccabi their first double-digit margin of the night, 23:13. Timor concluded the quarter with five straight points, including a buzzer-beating shot from Hapoel's side of the court, 25:18.



The Croatian big man converted a three-point possession after slamming two down as he was fouled from behind, and Wilbekin knocked down back to back triples for the largest lead so far, 36:20. The red hot Wilbekin continued his incredible night, tallying 7 consecutive for a total of 18 first-half points, and Blayzer added 4 of his own, ramping the visitor's edge up to 23, 51:28. 

The Reds opened the second half with back to back layups by Madar and Timor as Caloiaro responded on the other end, exploiting a mismatch for a tough three-point play. A Jonathan Mor slam and Madar triple led Sfairopoulos to call his first timeout of the contest, 56:39. 

Blayzer and John DiBartolomeo answered from behind the arc, while Madar was the only bright spot for the Reds, answered on the other, 63:44. The hosts scored the final 4 points of the quarter from the free-throw line, 65:48.

The Yellow & Blue maintained the 20 point margin throughout the quarter as Zoosman tipped in an offensive board, and Hunter took control offensively with three straight decisive plays, 73:54. Wilbekin and Zoosman shot in back to back triples, and Ziziz met Apshow at the rim, blocked his attempted dunk, and responded with a three-point play. Maccabi dominated the Tel Aviv derby with an 85:69 win over Hapoel.

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