Match Preview
The last time these two sides locked horns was in early May, with Maccabi Tel Aviv taking a dramatic 112-105 overtime victory in the Super League. The winner of this match will advance to the League Cup grand finals.
Maccabi Unbeaten in Israel Despite EuroLeague Struggles
Speaking of their domestic affairs, Maccabi are at a 100% win rate in Israel, beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 101-83 to take the Super Cup, while also outplaying Ironi Kiryat Ata 109-61 in the League Cup quarterfinals last weekend.
The Yellows are off to a horrible start to the new EuroLeague season, though, registering three back-to-back defeats where they were tagged as favorites on two occasions.
Their defending was awful in the opening loss to ASVEL 84-74, allowing too many open shots, while getting smashed by Besiktas 109-93 in the follow-up clash, which was arguably their worst defensive performance in a while.
On Friday, Maccabi Tel Aviv stood no chance against red-hot Panathinaikos, losing 90-67 in Athens, where their shooting was at just 39%. Veteran Roman Sorkin had a good performance with 13 points and 5/9 shooting.
Hapoel Jerusalem Entering on a High Note
Hapoel Jerusalem are coming off an amazing performance in the EuroCup opening round earlier this week, crushing Rostock 94-73 on a neutral court in Belgrade. Kenneth Lofton dominated the floor with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Hapoel Jerusalem started their Israeli League Cup campaign by outplaying Hapoel Beer Sheva 83-69 and Maccabi Ashdod 110-77 in the group stages.
They had zero problems in the quarterfinals against Bnei Herzliya, leading by 12 points at half-time and never letting go, advancing to the next stage with an 88-68 win, where Lofton recorded another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.