Hapoel is through to the Playoff Semifinals!

Hapoel defeated HaEmek 98-91 at Gan Ner and advanced to the playoff semifinals for the fifth consecutive season. The Reds recorded their second win over the team from the Valley within 48 hours yesterday, completing the job with a convincing 2-0 sweep in the quarterfinal series.

In the next round, Yonatan Alon's team will face the winner of the series between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Rishon LeZion, which is currently tied at 1-1.



Jared Harper led the way with 26 points, including a perfect 15/15 (!) from the free-throw line, while also dishing out 8 assists and finishing with an outstanding efficiency rating of 35. Roi Huber delivered an excellent performance with 14 points and 4/6 shooting from three-point range.

Khadeen Carrington and Justin Smith added 12 points each. Isaiah Mobley (11 points) and Xavier Sneed (10 points) completed a list of six Hapoel players in double figures on the way to the semifinals.



Jared Harper summed up the victory and qualification for the semifinals: "First of all, credit to them. They're a tough team, and every time we played against them, we had to fight every second to get the win. For us, this is great, but it's only the first step toward our goal, which is to win the championship.

"We had a lot of guys step up tonight. Huber did what Huber does. He always steps up in the big moments and makes big plays. We need to keep doing these things as a team and move on to the next round."
 

Roi Huber said: "We played against a good team. Every game we've had against them this season, they made things difficult for us. I'm happy that we stayed calm and composed even when they had momentum. Now, let's go to the semifinals."



The semifinal series will begin on Sunday, June 7 at 20:50. Hapoel's opponent will be determined at a later date. Ticket information for the game will be published across the club's digital channels. Yalla Hapoel!