Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv was in total command Sunday night, beating Hapoel Eilat 88:72 in Menora Mivtachim Arena, grasping a 1:0 lead in the Israeli Winner League Semifinals. The reigning Israeli champions received help from 6,000 pushing Yellow & Blue supporters, who backed Giannis Sfairopoulos's squad to stay unbeaten in the playoffs. Maccabi will make the long journey south to Eilat for Game 2, as a win on Tuesday will secure a spot in the championship series.
Omri Casspi 17 points and Yovel Zoosman 16 points (14 in the 4th) had big nights, as Ante Zizic added 11 points and Chris Jones contributed 10. Scottie Wilbekin (8 assists) and Othello Hunter (9 rebounds) each finished the night with 8 points. Before the tip-off, Wilbekin and Zizic received awards for being selected by the fans and reports to the starting five of the season.
Head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos spoke what led to the convincing win: "Coming into the series, Eilat had the number 1 offense in the league, so we wanted to play well on the defensive end, and we did that tonight, stopping them on 72 points, almost 20 under their average. From good defensive rhythm, it provided us good rhythm on the offensive end, controlling all part of the game deserving this victory".
"Our players know it's money time, and for this part of the season, we've practiced and worked all year long. Everybody showed up and did the best for the team, but it's only game 1 of the series, and the 16 point differential doesn't add on, so we need to be ready in less than 48 hours for a tough game".
"My teammates found me in good spots, I shot with confidence as I should always do, and I'm happy the ball sunk in", Said Yovel Zoosman, who finished as the MVP of the game after scoring 14 of his 16 total points in the last quarter. "We stopped Eilat today on 72 points, we didn't do a great defensive job in the first quarter, but as the game progressed, we adjusted and performed the task".
"The fans feed Maccabi, and as a club, we got the most out of them tonight. Hopefully, they will come to support us in the following games ahead".