Maccabi Tel Aviv showed again tonight (Thursday), for the who-knows-how-much time, that it should under no circumstances be eulogized before the last buzzer is heard. Despite a 67:50 lag against Hapoel Holon, six and a half minutes before the end of the game, the champion qualified for the state cup final – and will try to lift the title for the 45th time in its history, and the first since the 2017/18 season.
Yannis Sapropoulos He did not remain indifferent to the impressive turnaround recorded by his players and said at the end: “This is a heroic victory of the players. I am very proud of how we played and fought in the last quarter. I do not remember the difference, but with great effort and great defense at the end we came back. Lots of things to change the game – and that made me very proud. “
Asked if he believed his team could come back from the big lag with so little time on the clock, the Greek coach stressed: “Obviously I believed. I changed the lineup and used two highs, I tried to change momentum. It didn’t work so I switched to a pressure game all over the field. “The momentum passed to us and we reached overtime, where we won with a lot of tactics. I am very proud of the players who fought to the end.”
On the losing side, Guy Pnini, Who was excellent with 17 points, had a hard time accepting the evil of the decree: “We made all the possible mistakes in the face of pressure, we lost balls, we threw the ball quickly, we did not use the clock well. When you do it all against Maccabi Tel Aviv – you pay dearly. The price we paid is heavy because I do not think there will be many opportunities to lead Maccabi by 17 points in the fourth quarter. “
