A year after the victory in the final at the Arena, Hapoel Jerusalem repeated the feat – and this time by Eliyahu. The Reds defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 72:85 this evening (Thursday) and won the State Cup for the eighth time in their history. The European factories had a big influence on this final. Nine days were not enough for Maccabi to mentally recover from the painful elimination in the quarterfinals by Panathinaikos, while on the other hand, since the early elimination from the Champions League, Jerusalem has recorded 11 victories out of 12 games under the new coaching staff.
When you reach a cup final, the motivation should be self-evident. But tonight, one team seemed to want a lot more than its opponent. From the opening, you could see the aggressiveness of Jerusalem. Although her players missed six shots in the first minute alone, they did not stop picking rebounds in the attack. In the entire game they took 19 of these, while on the other hand Maccabi Tel Aviv collected only 11.
Jerusalem started the game better and took the lead 2:10 thanks to a three-pointer by Nimrod Levi, but the yellows woke up, started to defend more strongly and took the lead. It started with Bonzie Colson, who got Maccabi Tel Aviv into the game with 5 consecutive points, and continued with a 2:12 run led by Roman Sorkin and Tamir Blatt. In this half, Maccabi took advantage of its huge advantage on the face line, and managed to escape to a double-digit lead in the second quarter, 18:29. Jerusalem further shrunk to 37:33, but Sorkin and Hasiel Rivero scored 20 points until the break and maintained the promising advantage of the yellows until the end of the half, 37:46.
But Hapoel Jerusalem was not broken. on the contrary. She started the second half exactly like the first, with amazing defensive work by Yuval Sussman and Or Cornelius and in certain minutes also by Kadin Carrington. While Lorenzo Brown played a poor game with no less than 11 turnovers, the center opposite Speedy Smith celebrated against Maccabi’s lack of defense with 15 assists. Four baskets by Jacory Williams from half distance and two by the great Sussman from an offensive rebound led Jerusalem to a run of 11 unanswered points that ensured a turnaround, 46:48 two minutes into the second half. From there the Reds did not stop.
Unlike the first quarter, this time the Reds players continued to devour the field, and with 11 of 13 from the field completed an amazing run, 5:26. Maccabi Tel Aviv looked like a flock without a shepherd. Tamir Blatt did not control the tempo and John DiBartholomew presented a game that did not match his experience and vinerities. Jerusalem completed the entire third quarter with a 10:31 run, which led it to a 56:68 advantage. The Yellows were unable to come back in the fourth quarter either, mainly because of 22 turnovers compared to 18 assists, while Jerusalem on the other hand gave 22 assists and only lost 8. These numbers – in addition to the offensive rebound – made the difference between the teams.
Scored for Jerusalem: Williams 21, Randolph 17, Carrington 16, Smith 12 (15 assists), Levy 10, Sussman 9.
Scored for Maccabi: Sorkin 17, Colson 10, Brown 9 (7 assists, 11 turnovers), Niebo 9 (13 rebounds), Blatt 8 (7 assists), Rivero 8, Cleveland 7, DiBartholomew 4.
ظهرت في الأصل على www.haaretz.co.il