Maccabi Tel Aviv prevails in derby to reach cup semis
Yellow-and-blue survived a mighty scare to overcome Hapoel Tel Aviv 73-71 at Nokia Arena on Saturday night to reach the semifinals of the State Cup.
By ALLON SINAIMaccabi Tel Aviv swingman Sylven Landesberg (right) scored a team-high 19 points in his team’s 73-71 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the State Cup quarterfinals(photo credit: ADI AVISHAI)
Maccabi Tel Aviv survived a mighty scare to overcome Hapoel Tel Aviv 73-71 at Nokia Arena on Saturday night to reach the semifinals of the State Cup.Maccabi is aiming to win its sixth straight cup, but was very nearly knocked out before the semis for just the second time since 1993.The yellow-and-blue looked to be cruising when it led by as many as 17 points (59-42) midway through the third quarter.However, Hapoel, which beat Maccabi by 20 points when the teams last met at Nokia, slowly but surely ate away at the deficit and had a chance to complete a comeback at the buzzer, only for Durand Scott’s three-point attempt to not even hit the rim.“We made all the possible mistakes and brought Hapoel back from 17 points down instead of finishing the game,” said Maccabi coach Guy Goodes, whose team can now turn its focus to Tuesday’s Euroleague Top 16 opener at Panathinaikos. “We weren’t at our best, but I’m happy we showed our character and held on after Hapoel came back. We are in the semifinals and that is the most important thing.”Sylven Landesberg led Maccabi with 19 points, while Devin Smith added 13 points in 19 minutes, but missed the closing stages due to injury.Yancy Gates had 17 points for Hapoel.“We came back from a big hole,” said Hapoel coach Oded Katash. “We needed to be slightly more composed to win, but I’m proud of my players. We played a good team, but we made a lot of mistakes.”Maccabi, which signed forward Joe Alexander on Thursday, will find out who it faces in the last four in Tuesday’s draw.The three remaining semifinalists will be decided on Sunday. The final National League representative, Elitzur Barak Netanya, hosts last season’s finalist Hapoel Eilat, while Maccabi Haifa welcomes Hapoel Gilboa/Galil and Hapoel Jerusalem visits Maccabi Rishon Lezion.
