Maccabi Tel Aviv Cruise Past Hapoel as Micic Struggles in Game 1

Maccabi takes control in Game 1

Maccabi Tel Aviv rolled to a 96–75 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv on their home floor in Game 1 of the Israeli Premier League finals. The win gives Maccabi a 1–0 edge in the series; they need two more victories to claim the title.

Hapoel had a brutal start, managing just 16 points in the opening quarter — their lowest-scoring period of the domestic season. Vasilije Micic had a particularly rough first half, going scoreless and coughing up five turnovers in 20 minutes; his frustration even boiled over in a heated exchange with the officials. By halftime Maccabi led comfortably, 49–34.

The second half offered no reprieve for the visitors. Missing key players such as Dan Oturu, Elijah Bryant and Antonio Blakeney, Hapoel couldn’t mount a comeback while Maccabi steadily extended the gap and controlled the game from start to finish.

Who stood out and what’s next

Jaylen Hoard paced Maccabi with 20 points and Jimmy Clark added 15, helping seal the comfortable win. For Hapoel, Johnathan Motley led the scoring with 12 points, while Micic finished the game with seven and Yam Madar scored six.

Game 2 is set for Thursday at 7:50 p.m. local time, with Hapoel needing to regroup quickly if they want to level the series and avoid going down 0–2.