Tomorrow: the red rivals in the battle for the final

Two of the biggest rivals in Israeli basketball, who provided us with several unforgettable playoff series, will begin the second semi-final series tomorrow (Wednesday), when Hapoel "Bank Yahav" Jerusalem will host Hapoel Tel Aviv at Pais Arena for game number 1 (21:00, live broadcast on the SPORT5 channel, judges: Omer Esteron, Amit Black, Tzachi Habdali).

Aleksandar Dzikic's team qualified for second place right at the finish line of the regular season and, in the quarterfinals, beat Bnei Herzliya 1:3. Danny Franco's team was ranked 1-2 throughout most of the regular season and could have secured home advantage throughout the playoffs in the last round, but the loss in the derby sent them to third place. In the first round of the playoffs, she looked excellent and swept Ironi Nes Ziona 0:3.

Starting with the 1978–79 season, there were 77 best-of-three series in the top playoffs in Israel: 46 of the series ended in a 0:2 sweep (60%) and 31 of the series reached a decisive third game (40%). In the 62 best-of-three series to date, the team with the home advantage won (80.5%), compared to only 15 victories for the team without the home advantage (19.5%).

Only 11 teams in the history of the top playoffs in Israel came from a 1:0 deficit to a 1:2 victory in the best-of-three series, and two of them did so without having to win away in the years when the series opened with a home game of the lower-ranked team. The last to do so was Bnei Herzliya, which recovered from a loss in the opening semi-final series last year against Maccabi Tel Aviv with two consecutive victories.

Two years ago, when all the playoff series were in the format of the best of three games, only one team won without a home advantage: Hapoel Gilboa/Galil in the semi-finals against Hapoel Holon (0:2). Last season, all quarterfinal (best of 5) series ended with the team with the home advantage winning, but in the semifinal and final (best of 3) series, the lower seed won. In the quarterfinals this season, all four of the higher-ranked teams, who enjoyed home advantage, qualified for the next stage.

Last season, for the second time in history and the first since 2017, the two leaders of the league at the end of the regular season did not reach the final, which brought together the third-ranked Bnei Herzliya with the fourth-ranked Hapoel Holon. The purple-yellows became the champions with the second-lowest ranking in the regular league, after Maccabi Rishon LeZion, who did it from sixth place in 2016. Apart from them, only two other teams that were not ranked 1-2 in the regular season lifted the title: Hapoel Gilboa/Galil in 2010 and Hapoel Jerusalem in 2017, both from third place.

History in Playoffs

Schedule

Fun Facts

1. The series brings together the two teams with the most titles besides Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israeli basketball: Hapoel Tel Aviv won five championships and four cups; Hapoel Jerusalem lifted seven cups and two championship plates, in addition to one Yolav Cup and five wins in the Winner's Basket Cup. However, the Reds from the capital have not qualified for the playoff final since their last championship in 2017, while those from Tel Aviv have not visited for 18 years. Jerusalem reached the cup and the Champions League this season, and Tel Aviv reached the finals of the Winner Basket Cup.

2. The teams have met to date in five top playoff series, and all of them opened with a Jerusalem victory. Nevertheless, in three of the five series, Hapoel Tel Aviv came back from a 0:1 deficit to win the series—twice when it held the home advantage and once without. The previous series between them, in the 2016 quarterfinals, opened with an unforgettable game that ended in a 97:99 victory for Jerusalem at Pais Arena after overtime, despite Nate Robinson's 46 points, the second highest ever by a top playoff player. 10 of the 22 playoff games between them were decided by three or less!

3. Hapoel Tel Aviv is the only team this season in all formats to beat Hapoel Jerusalem twice in a row: 71:76 in the semi-finals of the Winner Basket Cup and 77:80 away in the first round. On the other hand, the cup holder is the only one to beat the Tel Aviv Reds three times in a row this season—all away: 67:86 in the cup, 68:80 in the second round, and 76:85 in the upper house. Only six of the 22 playoff games between the teams to date have been decided by the victory of the visiting team, whereas in the previous series between them there was not a single away victory.

4. The two representatives of the teams in the second top five of the season recorded completely different data in the meetings between the teams: Kadin Carrington excelled in the five meetings against Hapoel Tel Aviv with 20.6 points and 3.2 three-pointers for 42% on average compared to 12.8 points and 1.5 three-pointers in 35% of the rest of the games in all formats, while Jordan McRae dropped from 16.6 points (47% from the field, 80% from the line) against the other opponents in all formats to 4.5 points (24% from the field, 43% from the line) against the cup holder.

5. Since the beginning of 2023, Hapoel Jerusalem has won nine of its ten games in all frames against the other participants in the playoff semifinals. Hapoel Tel Aviv lost all of its last five meetings against opponents from places 1-4 and lost second place in the table right in the final round after winning three of its last four games in the upper house, while before that it had a record of 4:19 this season in the league. Only one out of five The series between them until today ended with the victory of the team that did not enjoy home advantage.