After deciding that the Red Fans could not enter the arena, Oded Ketch and his youngsters rose to a 0: 1 lead in a series against the Greeks in the eighth Champions League Final

• Happy Thomas, tonight at Arena

  Photo:

  Bernie Ardov

We always ask what sports are worth without the fans, so tonight (Wednesday) we got the answer straight ahead - it's not worth much. Instead of a basketball celebration and an important game with 7,000-8,000 spectators at Arena in the FIFA Champions League playoffs, we received a surreal spectacle of empty bidders and a game in front of dozens of people, including journalists, Hapoel Jerusalem, players' families and some close associates.

As much as players are pros, and Hapoel Jerusalem players are high-level pros, with no energy from the crowd and without the familiar atmosphere of the offerings, it was also hard for them to show their familiar level, but eventually they transcended in the last quarter and came out with 78:91 on Prishtri who raised them To 0: 1 in the eighth-finals series (better than 3).

Thomas, tonight in Arena // Photo: Bernie Ardov

The guests from Greece, the Israeli problems and the guidelines of the local Ministry of Health following the Corona virus, not exactly his business, and rightly so for them. For three quarters, they took advantage of the quiet and low energy in the Arena to stay close and did not allow the preferred Jerusalemites to flee.

Ex-Maccabi Tel Aviv MacDeandra Kane, a player who usually feeds on energy, was also not bad in the minutes he received and, along with Angolan giant Yannick Moreira, put pressure on the people of Jerusalem who also lost Tamir Blatt in the shoulder during the game.

Jerusalem Defense tries to arrest Vasilopoulos, tonight in Arne // Photo: Bernie Ardov

Fortunately for the Israeli Cup holder, she has experienced players like James Paladin and Tyson Thomas, who at the important moments left the noises around and made the right moves to win and get off to the interplay next week in Greece.