The first game in the semi-finals of the State Cup tonight (Monday) at Hafis Arena in Jerusalem brought together Maccabi Tel Aviv with Eruni Nes Ziona and at the end the yellow team came out with a 73:85 victory and the first ticket to the finals that will take place on Thursday.
The Yellows, who were eliminated last year in the semi-finals by Hapoel Tel Aviv in the derby, came to the cup week from first place in the table, with 13 wins compared to only three losses and with the pressure and expectations.
As with every game in the local framework, the Tel Avivians came to the cup week as favorites to win the title, although their hegemony in this enterprise has recently been cracked - only once in the last five years did the cup make its way to the yellow title cabinet.
On the other hand, the Oranges reached the third semi-final in the club's history with mixed feelings.
Elad Hassin's young and exciting team started the season with a storm and was a surprise for the league, but in the last few weeks something cracked in the team's chemistry from the heart of the colony and the losses began to accumulate - they had six of them in the last seven rounds in the league.
The main story that occupied Oded Ketch's trainees throughout the last month, and in particular in the preparations for the game against Nes Ziona City, is the fitness level of Lorenzo Brown, the star of the team who suffered a sprained ankle and returned to play for the first time since the injury.
Despite the exciting status and the importance of the game on the floor, the situation in the stands, which were far from full, was disappointing.
On the floor we witnessed a head-to-head battle between two of the best center backs in the league, the league's assist king DJ Cooper on one side and Brown, the leader and engine of the yellows, on the other.
After a first quarter led by the oranges, the yellows took control of the game thanks to wonderful minutes by Josh Niebo and Brown, who looked great in the return game, and took a double-digit lead in the middle of the third quarter.
Hassin's players managed to make a run at the end of the fourth quarter, but the pair of Brown (19 points and 9 assists) and Nivo (16 points and 8 rebounds) prevented a turnaround and sent the Yellows to another appearance in the cup final.
Photographs: Alan Shiver
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