The quarterfinals of the National Basketball Cup kicked off on Saturday (20:00, Sport 5) in the Romema hall, with Maccabi Haifa hosting Hapoel Holon for the 2009 final, so the Purples took the trophy with an unforgettable three by Brian Tolbert on the buzzer.
Apart from the same final, the teams met 3 more times in the cup and the balance between them is 2: 2. The last time this happened, Haifa won 87:99 in the quarterfinals of the 2014/15 season. The Greens have never won a trophy, while Holon will try to come close to a third title win.
On the way to the quarterfinals, the two teams went through two rounds against teams from the National League. Haifa, which started the season in a very bad way (9: 1 balance in the league), barely passed Hapoel Afula and AS. Ramat Hasharon. The Purples easily skipped Maccabi Hod Hasharon and Hapoel Acre.
Hapoel Holon underwent two changes yesterday, when it added the coordinator of Nahariya Niv Misgav, and released the center Uriel Trotsky who moved to Nes Ziona. Dadas’ team is in a good period, with 5 consecutive victories in the league. Her opponent, on the other hand, is having a hard time, and yesterday suffered a sixth consecutive loss, 80:76 to Nes Ziona.
More in the quarterfinals
First: Maccabi Rishon LeZion – Urbani Ness Ziona (18:00), Maccabi Tel Aviv – Hapoel Tel Aviv (21:00).
Crimson: Hapoel Gilboa / Galil – Hapoel Jerusalem (20:15).