First publication: Maccabi Tel Aviv will try to add Silvan Francisco in the summer Israel today

Maccabi Tel Aviv easily beat Bnei Herzliya 89:105 yesterday (Monday) at the Menorah Mittehim Hall and took the fourth and last ticket to the semi-final status of the State Cup, with the help of a great game by Rafi Manko who led the list of scorers for the yellows with 17 points.

Three days after the painful loss in Greece to Panathinaikos as part of the Euroleague, the Yellows returned to the local arena and played for the entire pot as part of the cup, and had no difficulty overcoming the trophy holder without Chris Babb on the way to the next stage, in a game that was one-sided for many minutes.

"I'm less satisfied with the first quarter, but from the beginning of the second quarter we did things more correctly," stated Oded Ketch at the end.

"We scored with good percentages and overall I'm satisfied. This is what Herzliya's defense allows, we need to get as many correct and free shots as possible and we did that, there were some really good attacks. Our shot selection was good," Ketch commented on his team's exceptional shooting night from outside the arc with 16 three-pointers at 59%.

The cup holder had a hard time finding defensive solutions for the yellow attack and conceded 59 points already at halftime.

In the second half, Ketch took advantage of the situation to give minutes to other players who were not involved in the Euroleague weekend, and received 17 points (5 three-pointers) from Rafi Manko, who led five scorers in double figures, in his best game in the yellow uniform.

Manko, who was chosen as the outstanding player of the game, shared his feelings at the end: "The game went in our direction as soon as we started to pick up the defense, it's a key for us. Basket exchanges are not good for us, I'm glad we were able to tighten the defense and escape. My shooting ability was missed at the beginning of the season, I'm glad it went Good. My job is really to continue every practice and game and be the best I can. There are many good players in the squad, I'm ready to contribute a few minutes in the Euroleague and 20 in the league."

The club did not take the victory for granted and knew that the game against Herzliya could be a minefield.

"I know that at Maccabi Tel Aviv every victory, even every title in the local arena, is a feeling of relief and less joy, but I don't think we should take things for granted, we should be happy with what we did in the game," Ketch added, complimenting his pair of Israeli players.

"The situation of Jake Cohen and Rafi Manko is different, Jake is more involved since Alex was injured. It's true that Rafi gets less minutes in Europe, but I really like the way he contains it and conducts himself. I'm very happy for him on the road, we may be in Europe as well We'll have to use it more."

Now the Yellows will begin preparations for the next match within the Euroleague which will be held in about two days, when Alba Berlin will be hosted in the hall.

However, at the same time as competing in the club, there are already those who are thinking and starting to prepare professionally for the next season.

The club has marked the French center Sylvain Francisco in the notebooks and will try to join him in the summer, Israel Hayom learned for the first time.

Francisco (25, 1.86 m), a player for the Greek Peristri and the French national team, stands out this year in the Champions League, where he records impressive averages of 15.9 points, 5.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds, under the guidance of former player Vasilis Spanoulis.

As I recall, the guard was mentioned as a candidate for the Yellows who wanted his services as early as this summer, when this season he is under constant surveillance by the club's staff who marked him as a key option for reinforcement.

According to sources who comment on the details, the fight for his services is not expected to be simple because the Spanish Valencia is also in the picture and is interested in the player.

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