Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Holon 107-93 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series as Tamir Blatt and Iffe Lundberg hit their shots from deep while Roman Sorkin and Jaylen Hoard ruled on the inside as the yellow-and-blue chalked up the win.
However, the real story behind the game was it being played behind closed doors, with no fans in stands due to the Iranian missile attacks over the previous 24 hours. Some of the foreign players contemplated leaving the country and advocated for the game to the moved, but ultimately the decision was made to play before empty stands.
Usually before a Maccabi Tel Aviv game at Yad Eliyahu, there are dozens of fans who wait at the players entrance to try and catch a glimpse of their heroes or maybe even take a selfie, but on this night there were no more than only a few. This was due to the Home Front Command restrictions of not having any spectators in attendance for the start of the yellow-and-blue’s semifinal series against Hapoel Holon.
Playing for empty stands
As the players stepped onto the floor for the pregame warmup, every single sneaker squeak, every single cough and every single word could be heard on the court with no one in the stands, as the over 10,000 fans that had been expected were forced to watch the game from their homes (or bars) on this night. Instead, the players on the bench were the ones who cheered their teammates on and made noise in order to get the best out of one another on this eerie night.
Adama Sanogo and Netanel Artzi got busy early for Holon, while Sorkin and Lundberg responded for Maccabi. Tamir Blatt and John DiBartolomeo both went from deep as did Lundberg to give the hosts a 30-23 lead after 10 minutes.
Blatt and DiBartolmeo continued to fill the basket as the second quarter got underway while at the other end Darin Green Jr., J’Von McCormick and Arzti tried to keep the Purples close. A red-hot Blatt along with Zach Hankins and Jaylen Hoard added points but Green drilled home a trio of triples to keep Predrag Runic’s team hanging around but down 60-53 at halftime to Oded Katash’s squad.
Kevion Taylor drained a pair from deep to begin the third quarter, Lundberg answered right back and Sorkin also scored from downtown. Hoard and Hankins both found the hoop, Sanogo did the same including a massive dunk as DiBartolomeo and McCormick traded baskets to keep the visitors still within striking range (79-72) after 30 minutes of action.
You could hear the coaches cheering, screaming and encouraging on the sidelines loud and clear as every clang off of the rim or swish through the basket could be heard with authority. The referees checking the monitors and the off-court officials could be heard discussing a challenge or play. No matter, the players on both sides continued to pound away at either end of the court.
Taylor opened up the final frame with a deuce, before Lundberg and Will Rayman both dialed up from long distance. While McCormick came back with points, Blatt went from way downtown and Holon simply couldn’t keep up with Tel Aviv, which hit the 100-point mark and closed out the Game 1 win.
Sorkin and Lundberg each scored 21 points while Blatt added 20 points in the victory while Green scored 21 points as both Sanogo and Taylor each scored 19 points for Holon in the defeat.
After the game, Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash spoke about the victory and the situation surrounding the game.
“I think we didn’t come into the game well due to what went on and I wasn’t sure as to what to expect. We tried to convince some players to play right until the last minute. We played for home-court advantage all season and we didn’t have the fans in this game. It was tough to manage the rotation but as a coach I am so proud of the players.”
Lundberg discussed the situation and addressed his frustration with the Winner League administration.
“It felt okay and it’s nice to win; it was a hard day for everyone but overall I am happy that we won. This is a message to the Winner League Administration – I really think that today was handled very, very poorly. I think it was very unprofessional and disrespectful to every player who played to be honest. I understand that they’re an entity and their interest is branding the product of Israeli basketball. But at the end of the day, we’re human beings and I understand that we have to remain professional and we have to go out there and do our job which we did today, but that doesn’t neglect the fact that the last 24 hours have been really tough on everyone. They need to do better.”
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