Hapoel Tel Aviv claims slim derby conquest

Hapoel defeated Maccabi 89-86 on Saturday night in a pulsating Tel Aviv basketball derby as the Reds mounted a late comeback that saw Xavier Munford score all of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to snatch the win.

The yellow-and-blue had been in the driver’s seat at the Drive-In Arena throughout the game as Wade Baldwin paced the visitors. But Hapoel saw Munford start to score at will, while Will Cummings and Kyle Alexander found critical baskets as well, to roar back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit to take the three-point victory.

Cummings led the way with 18 points as Munford and Alexander added 17 points each in the win. Baldwin scored 21 points for Maccabi, Bonzie Colson added 17 points and Roman Sorkin chipped in with 11 points in the loss.

“This was one of our poorest games in a while,” Hapoel Tel Aviv head coach Danny Franco began. “We defended decently but there were times where there was a lack of focus in all aspects of the game. Let’s be honest, both teams didn’t play a great game and we came out as the winners. We were down by nine points with five minutes to go and I told the guys that this game was there for the taking by just grabbing another rebound, not turning over the ball and making good decisions. We didn’t need much more than that, and at the end of the day I’m happy it went our way.”

“This was a game of runs,” Maccabi bench boss Oded Katash said. “We began the game well and we had some good minutes at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter but then we gave up the lead which was painful. We lost our heads a bit and we didn’t have good body language. There was a lot of frustration and that is not our way and not the way to win this type of game.”

"We have to figure out how as a team to go back to the principles."

Munford, the game’s MVP, looked back at the win and how he raised his game in the last quarter to take the victory.

“Early in the game, I saw how they had been playing me defensively and I had to get rid of the ball. Towards the end of the game, I wanted to be more aggressive and do what the other team was going to give me, along with creating for the team. With all of the injuries, we all have to pick it up and it’s got to be a team effort. Playing here gave us the energy and it’s a good feeling to play back in front of the crowd.

Colson spoke about the loss from Maccabi’s point of view.

“It’s very frustrating, we have to figure out how as a team to go back to the principles. We got to fight adversity as a team, we got to stop this pattern of losing leads. Xavier is a talented scorer and it’s a team effort to stop him, at some point we lost track of him on some possessions and he exposed us. We got to come together as a team and stay together, it’s what adjustments we need to do to stop this. It’s not our identity and we need to know what to do on both sides of the court to stop the runs.”

Next up for Hapoel is a Wednesday EuroCup date against Prometey and its Israeli head coach Ronen “Neno” Ginzburg in what will be a “home” game back in Belgrade, while Maccabi also hosts Panathinaikos in Euroleague action on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bnei Herzliya downed Hapoel Holon 92-87 in a back-and-forth game that saw veteran Adrian Banks and newcomer Ethan Burg lead the visitors to the tough victory.

The Purples came out strong with tremendous play from Justin Smith, but Dan Shamir’s Herzliya squad shot 11-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first half to take a 53-48 lead at halftime.

Amit Sherf’s Holon used a terrific third quarter to retake the lead and hold Herzliya to just nine points, however Burg turned up the offense in the final frame and together with critical baskets by Reggie Lynch raced off to a 10-0 Herzliya run to turn the tables and take the hard-earned victory.

Banks led the way for Herzliya with 20 points, Burg added 17 points while Lynch scored 14 points in the win. Justin Smith scored 28 points for Holon, Netanel Artzi chipped in with 16 points and Shawn Dawson scored 11 points in the loss.

“After any win it’s fun, but honestly it was great coming back here,” Shamir explained as he made his first return to the Toto Arena since he coached the club. “When we go back to places that were part of our lives it’s special and Holon is a place that can get into your entire being. I was here for many years, and it was just great. For our team this was an important win. We made a lot of changes to our roster and we needed to adapt yet again. We played a high-level team in Holon and they came in with positive vibes, so it’s a nice step for us that we won.”

“The first half we did not defend whatsoever and we lost because of that half,” Holon bench boss Sherf said. “We had the momentum going into the fourth quarter after playing well in the third quarter but couldn’t keep it up. We will need to defend better going forward.”

Reggie Lynch spoke about the victory as well.

“We have had to deal with a lot so far this season, as has every team in this league, but we probably had a lot more roster changes than any other team. But this week we played together and began to gel so the game came naturally to us here in Holon. They are a tough team as they play in an international tournament, but we know to raise ourselves to the level.”

Prior to the Holon-Herlizya game a number of special ceremonies took place, including one for the Brodutch family who were honored after mother Hagar and children Ofry, Yuval and Oria were released from captivity by Hamas in Gaza.

Shamir was also recognized as he returned to his former stomping ground, while Israel-French sharp-shooter Fred Bourdillon – who played for Holon from 2020-23 – was also feted by the crowd.