To a professional eye it is difficult to explain what happened in Game 3. It took place where the basketball talent ends and begins a twilight zone where character, unit pride, mental resilience and perfect execution ability dominate.
Bar Timor reflects, applies and refines these values throughout his conduct, on and off the field, and has led with their help a bunch of fighters to stay alive in the series.
And due to the lack of James Young in advance, the entire Maccabi Tel Aviv defense program focused on stopping Jacoben Brown.
On the one hand, the program was successful.
Brown scored just 3 points.
On the other hand, Hapoel scored 50 points in the half.
So maybe the plan worked, but it probably wasn't a good plan.
After the coordinator's injury, Maccabi lost focus and only assumed that its qualitative advantage would be reflected, but found no way to implement it.
And now the professional analysis implies that Maccabi has learned a lesson and will arrive less smug and more alert, but after Hapoel broke and burned the broom promised to it by many - and I among them - one must be careful and respect its chances tonight, thanks to Danny Franco's excellent psychological preparation and great advantage. Avi Even.
Hapoel will need all of her tools available, hoping Brown will be fit and can give her a few more minutes of magic.
But she also knows that she can count on her elite Israeli staff: Zalmanson, Adam, Kolshov and Benny, and of course the captain.
After all, the theory of the three strangers works exactly: a roster of three red strangers who became two in the half, won outside and lightly a glittering and ten times more expensive roster of five yellow strangers.
The number of foreigners in the league is excessive and frustrating for anyone who loves Israeli basketball, and no excuse for "success" in Europe justifies the tax relief for the Americans, which blinds the managements.
And it will remain true even if Maccabi wins the series.
Ask Sharon Avrahami, who promoted Kiryat Ata to the Premier League with half the number of foreigners allowed in it - one foreigner and a huge Sabra division headed by the exciting Koren Giorno.
There are some to learn from, and the question is how many of them will stay next season.
Judges, Equality and Justice
Playoff refereeing has a fateful meaning, especially for the underdog.
Too many events and too loud whistles were the lot of Danny Franco, Barak Peleg and Elad Hussein.
It was exacerbated by Guy Kaplan's dismissal on Friday, after an obsession - which at least seemed intentional - by Obswan, and was not even tested on the monitor.
Underdog does not deserve help from the judges, nor whistles in their favor.
They usually come with fewer strangers, without homeliness and in advance they are inferior.
Referees who understand the spirit of the game should at least listen, be careful not to be blunt and arrogant in front of them, and especially not to have a light hand on the technical trigger and distance.
I'm sure no judge comes up with an agenda from home and does not try to get the favorite to come up.
But respect, equality, justice and listening are critical qualities for judges - which you will bring from home.
Were we wrong?
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