Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv is the 2019/2020 Israel "Winner" League Champions! Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad fought hard in the final minutes of the Final Four Final versus Maccabi Rishon Le'Zion. However, the Yellow & Blue dominated the offensive boards and relied on Amar'e Stoudemire in the final minutes to keep the lead on its way to an 86:71 win.
Head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos explained the feeling after winning the title: "This championship is the mentality and character of Maccabi, we are proud to play for this team, and we are pleased to have such a big fan base that supports us. We are happy we gave them this happiness, and although they weren't with us here, their spirit was pushing us for this win. We are thankful for the fans, they did an amazing job driving the team throughout the year".
The Greek coach summarized the keys for victory: "Tonight we had a great first half, and it was clear Rishon will try to come back, and they did that because they are a good team. Starting and finishing the game with our big lineup was the key because they didn't expect it, and we surprised them with the way we protected the paint. We forced them to play a different type of game, and it was essential to establish it early".
Playing throughout the injuries the team suffered: "We knew we had a hard job missing 8 of our players. After the corona break, we built the team towards these games, and even then, we had injuries. At the end of the day, we are happy we won the championship, we showed our character especially in the vital games against Jerusalem, the third game against Hapoel Tel Aviv and these past two games".
"We knew they would fight back in the second half, but in the final minutes, we made plays on the defensive end, we had to grind it out, but at the end of the day, we pulled it off", Said Tyler Dorsey about the game. "We came for the championship, and we knew coming in that's the goal. This might be the craziest year in my life, especially basketball-wise, to play in these conditions, so it feels good, and I'm happy to win my first "Winner" League championship".
"This is special for us to come together despite a rough year with corona, quarantine, and to stay focused playing an amazing game. Tonight was a complete team basketball game", Told Final Four MVP Amar'e Stoudemire. "It means a lot to be the MVP of the Final Four at age 37, play high-level basketball is truly a blessing and to hang out with these young and keep up".