The first title of the 2020/21 season in Israeli basketball goes to Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Yellows won the Winner’s Cup tonight (Saturday) with an 84:86 victory in the final over Hapoel Holon, much thanks to the man who was missing them for a very long time – Omri Caspi. The forward stood out with 14 points and was the team’s most significant screw back from a double-digit deficit.
“There are a lot of emotions,” he said after the confrontation. “I took a championship last year with the team, even though I did not play, but I was a part. I did not play basketball for 13 months. I had many thoughts if I could play basketball again. As an athlete I look at all the possibilities. I told Yannis (Sapropoulos) that things should not be taken “Obviously. And today to play and help the team win, it’s a very good feeling, it’s definitely a very exciting moment for me.”
On his medical condition, Caspi added: “I’m on a minute limit and it’s part of the process, unfortunately. But it’s part of being an athlete, I know Yannis and Ami Bitton are watching over me so I don’t come back too soon. Hopefully I can play full games properly soon.”
Yannis Sapropoulos He stated at the end: “The fact that the Winner’s Cup final is played in December and not before the start of the season makes this title more important. Financial? From the moment I called him and offered him back from the NBA, I knew what he could contribute to us. I love collaborating with stars and he is a star.”
The Greek coach then added: “It’s important to us this title, we did not start with the normal fitness we wanted. I said the corona will make an impact, and then we started playing better. We can still play much better, I know our players will raise their level and as time goes on, We will play much better. “
The losing coach, Stefanos Dadas, I joked at the end of the game: “I told the players before the game that we were playing for a big title. Now, after we lost, I told them it’s just a season opener.”
He then added: “There is a bitter taste, because we knew we could win. On the other hand there is also a sweet taste because this is the second time in a decisive game we were against Maccabi, and maybe without our best player on the team. I do not want to invest too much emotion in the game, for me Even if we won or not, the head thinks about forgetting the game and concentrating on Hapoel Tel Aviv. I think we can compete against everyone at any level, and we can be proud of that. “