Chaos in Israel: Semifinal Abandoned as Hapoel Jerusalem Refuse to Return

Game recap

Hapoel Tel Aviv were leading 77–67 against Hapoel Jerusalem when the match was halted late in the third quarter of the Israeli league semifinals. Tel Aviv were missing Elijah Bryant, Daniel Oturu, Antonio Blakeney, Collin Malcolm and Tyler Ennis for the game.

Dimitris Itoudis’ team got off to a strong start. Yam Madar and Tomer Ginat helped spark an 11-point run, but Jared Harper answered with two three-pointers to keep Jerusalem close. Vasilije Micic and Madar ran much of the home offense early on, while Harper was Jerusalem’s main scoring option in the opening minutes. Micic finished the first half with 15 points and four assists and Tel Aviv led 52–47 at the break.

The tempo stayed high after halftime. Chris Jones provided solid minutes off the bench for Tel Aviv, and Khadeen Carrington and Xavier Sneed made plays for Jerusalem. Johnathan Motley also came alive in the third, but the game never reached a natural conclusion.

Incident and aftermath

Sirens sounded after an attack in northern Israel and the arena was evacuated. After clearing the stands, the referees initially instructed the teams to resume play. When it was time to restart with Tel Aviv up 77–67, Hapoel Jerusalem refused to return to the court. Following a prolonged delay, the officials abandoned the game.

At the time the match stopped, the top scorers for Tel Aviv were Vasilije Micic with 18 points and Yam Madar with 15. For Jerusalem, Xavier Sneed had 14 and Jared Harper 13.

The second game of the series is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, but whether it will go ahead remains uncertain given the circumstances.