Maccabi will face Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in the final on Thursday
Maccabi wins Tel Aviv derby in Israeli Cup semifinals
Article
3 Mins read
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv erased a double-digit second-half deficit to edge crosstown rival Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv 95-93 on Monday at Pais Arena in the Israeli capital in the Israeli State Cup semifinals. The win sets up a matchup with Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in the final on Thursday.
Rokas Jokubaitis led Maccabi with 27 points and 8 assists, Roman Sorkin posted 22 points and 8 rebounds and Levi Randolph tallied 21 points and 8 boards – including the go-ahead basket in overtime. Yam Madar led Hapoel with 23 points and 8 assists, Tomer Ginat scored 19, Johnathan Motley 15 and Marcus Foster 11.
Maccabi jumped out to a 19-13 start with Sorkin pouring in 7 points. Hapoel came back to tie it at 23-23 on a Bar Timor triple and it was 27-2 after 10 minutes. Hapoel went ahead 31-32 on a Guy Palatin three-pointer. Motley took charge with a flurry of points before dishing a pretty assist to Bruno Caboclo for a three in the corner that made it 35-43. Maccabi pushed back through Sorkin and Will Rayman to get within 44-46 at halftime. Hapoel surged ahead in the third quarter behind Madar and Foster. Maccabi trimmed the gap to 1 only to see Ginat drill a three and a fastbreak layup. Madar's circus shot gave Hapoel the game’s first double-digit lead, 56-66. Sorkin revived Maccabi with a three and John DiBartolomeo finished a 9-0 Maccabi run with a triple to end the third quarter at 65-66.
Maccabi tied it on Rivero free throws to start the fourth quarter and it was tied again at 68-68 and 71-71, but Maccabi was not able to pull in front. Threes by Madar and Foster made it 72-79 with less than 5 minutes to play. Maccabi answered with a triple by Jokubaitis and an alley-oop from Trevion Williams before Jokubaitis’s fastbreak layup tied it at 81-81 with 2 minutes to play. Sorkin gave Maccabi its first lead of the second half and. Foster tied things and the game came down to the closing seconds. Randolph's put-back of Jokubaitis's miss with 6.7 seconds left gave Maccabi the lead, but left enough time for Madar to feed Motley for a dunk that tied it at 87-87. Maccabi turned the ball over and Madar's potential buzzer-beater came after time expired, sending the game to overtime. Free throws by Madar and a layup by Joe Ragland gave Hapoel a 4-point lead with 2 minutes left in the extra session. Sorkin responded with a long jumper and Randolph banked in a go-ahead three. Madar came up empty on Hapoel's last possession and Maccabi celebrated a thrilling victory.