Roman Sorkin’s defining moment in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s championship-clinching win over Hapoel Tel Aviv came with 32 seconds left in Game 4, but the story of his season – and perhaps of his transformation as a player – ran much deeper than one corner three.
When Sorkin rose up and drilled the decisive shot to break a 76-76 tie, it was not simply the basket that sealed Maccabi’s 83-79 win, a 3-1 series victory, and the club’s 58th Israeli League championship. It was the latest reminder of how far he has come and how central he has become to everything Maccabi does.
For much of the previous game and a half, Sorkin had been out of rhythm. After scoring no points in Game 3, he had just four in Game 4 and had been frustrated time and again by Ish Wainright’s physical defense. Wainright had succeeded in pushing him away from the basket, disrupting his timing and taking him out of the flow of the offense. It was the kind of stretch that could rattle a player, especially in the middle of a championship series.
But Sorkin did not disappear. He stayed in the game mentally, trusted the moment, and delivered when Maccabi needed him most.
“I owed a lot to my team after the last game and a half,” Sorkin said after the win. “I was too focused on myself, and that’s part of the old me. I can’t be like that anymore. People here count on me.”
That quote may have said more about Sorkin than the shot itself.
Over the course of the season, Sorkin developed from an important contributor into Maccabi’s anchor and, ultimately, the Israeli MVP. He was one of the team’s most consistent players in domestic competition and in Euroleague play, and he carried that level into the postseason. Even when Hapoel made him work for every touch and every look in the finals, Maccabi never lost faith in him – because he had earned that trust over time.
That growth did not happen overnight. Sorkin’s rise has been built over the past few years, through setbacks, responsibility, and steady improvement. The player who once had to fight for minutes and consistency has become one of the premier big men in Israeli basketball and a legitimate force at the European level. He is no longer just a complementary piece; he is one of the players Maccabi turns to when the season is on the line.
Maccabi demanded resilience over challenging season
And this season, more than most, demanded resilience. Maccabi dealt with roster shortages, long stretches away from home, constant instability, and the emotional and logistical strain of another year played under the shadow of war. There were interruptions, uncertainty, and physical exhaustion, yet Sorkin remained one of the players who helped hold the team together.
“We moved to Belgrade, came back, and there were difficulties along the way, but this is a group of men,” Sorkin said. “I felt like I was letting the guys down, and this is a group that truly enjoys being together. This is a group of lions.”
In the end, that may be the lasting image of Maccabi’s title run: not just Sorkin hitting the biggest shot of the season, but Sorkin embodying what the season required – toughness, growth, accountability, and belief. The three-pointer may have sealed the championship, but it was everything that came before it that made Sorkin the face of Maccabi’s triumph.
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