Hapoel loses to Maccabi at the Arena

Four months after beating it in the Winner Cup final, in what was the team's last game before the 7/10 disaster and the war that followed - Hapoel lost today (Friday) to Maccabi Tel Aviv 90:85. The red fans flocked to the Hafis Arena which was filled with over 11 thousand fans. A tremendous game by Levi Randolph (33 points) was not enough for Hapoel to win the hot game on Friday at noon. The next game of Hapoel will be Kiryat Ata after the national teams' break.
 

Even before the game, Hapoel held a special ceremony in memory of the fallen, the Hapoel fans, who were murdered on 7.10 and fell in the "Iron Swords" war. The ceremony took place in the presence of the bereaved families who were invited to the game. And during it, the families were awarded framed honor shirts, with the names of those who fall on them.

Course of the game
1st Quarter
Hapoel started the game with Speedy Smith, Or Cornelius, Levi Randolph, Chris Johnson and Zach Hankins. The first minutes were a battle between Bonzie Colson and Levi Randolph who scored all the first 11 points of the game. Hapoel's first advantage was established by Chris Johnson who, like Levi, scored 5 quick points. Maccabi was effective in the transition attack and Hapoel tried to create frequent rotations to reduce the fatigue factor. The game continued to be close and very intense for both teams when at the end of the quarter - 22:20 for Hapoel.

2nd Quarter
Khadeen Carrington, with his first game this season in the league, opened the second quarter with 5 consecutive points with excellent shots outside the paint, and with another assist to Zach Hankins sent Oded Kattach to a timeout. From the time-out, the yellows came back sharper, especially in regards to rebounding, and managed to interrupt Hapoel's offensive flow. Maccabi had already taken the lead until Chris Johnson made a basket and a foul to tie the score. Nibo and Menko excelled and sent Kantzouris to a timeout trailing by 5. Hapoel managed to reduce with Carrington and at the end of the half - a 45:45 tie.

3rd Quarter
Speedy Smith opened the second half with a three-pointer that gave Hapoel the lead for almost 20 minutes remaining. From there, Maccabi ran the court and managed to stop the standing attack of the Reds, with Tamir Bllat making two three-pointers and giving the Yellows a double-digit lead with a run of 17:3. Zach Hankins stopped the run with a basket of his own, as the Workers try to tighten up the defense and close the gap. Maccabi's pick and roll continued to be very effective and at the end of the quarter, 57:73 to Maccabi.

4th Quarter
Levi Randolph crossed the 20-point line when he scored from every possible range in the fourth quarter, but Maccabi manages to go out on every explosive attack and use it for easy points to maintain its advantage. Roman Sorkin dominated under the baskets and managed to keep Maccabi's advantage high and stable. Even though Hapoel managed to create successful positions in defense, Hapoel had difficulty converting them into points on its side. Carrington and Johnson exploded in the last two minutes and managed to reduce the difference to single digits, shortly before the end. Hapoel managed to come within touching distance, but at the end - 90:85 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Boxscore