Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 77:80 at the end of tonight’s thriller (Sunday) in the hot derby held at Menora Mivtachim Hall, as part of a rematch from the 2nd round of the Winner Basket League. The champion managed to recover from the 91:85 loss to Hapoel Eilat and inflicted a fifth consecutive loss to the Reds.
Yellows coach, Yannis Sapropoulos, Shared at the end: “It was a real derby, Hapoel started really well, we were not good at first, they knew the importance of the game, they were more prepared. Quarter after quarter we managed to improve our defense, we played smarter later on, we have the experience and quality to win in games like this. The most important thing in a derby is victory. Chris Jones? He is a leader and he deserves a lot of credit. “
“It’s hard to press on the pitch for 40 minutes, this is our 50th game this season, it’s not easy to press on the whole pitch all the time. You have to give full energy and we play game after game, Hapoel had two weeks to prepare for this game in my opinion. Our pressure is effective, we try to press. ”
Scotty is not God, he is a human being like everyone else, the player has ups and downs, he is not in our best time, he tries, morals, he was not great, but he helped the team. Under the pressure of the game it adds to their performance and when it comes to the end of the season it makes sense that there are ups and downs, there are periods that will not be in the best period. We will have to give him a rest, he will come back again, it is a matter of time. “
From the other side of the barricade, Danny Franco He said: “CSKA also led 20 points in the third quarter, defensively we did a good job, but this is not something Maccabi has not met in the past, against better teams. We can not surprise them, in the level of commitment and energy and our upheavals and fitness that is reflected in game after “Game then we reach the end, losing tools. We did not enter today with enough players in the game to do the things we expect them to do.”
“Their excess tools have increased. If we were more time together, then we would know better what we want from ourselves. A lot of players tried to read situations and did the best they could, it was not enough to win this game. We did not come here as a missing team but as a proud team, we took bets but it is not enough to win here. “
“The difficulty in the end is of the players continuing throughout the season with these injuries. My difficulty as a coach is having to prepare a team for the game and having to put in the rules he believes in more, at least on the defensive side. “We had a preparation five days after the Sabbaths before Ness Ziona, we tried to get Tillman involved, after 12 minutes what happened to him happened, in the next two days we will know if he will return this season or not.”
“We tried to put in things that would make the game more profitable for Jonathan Moore and Reggie Apshou who is also after 11 days in solitary confinement at home. We have to put things aside, that’s the reality, whoever deals with it has to deal with it, and whoever does not, has to sit outside. We need to be from game to game better, I understand the frustration and disappointment from this game. We wanted to look good today, it was important to me that we play with pride. “