Hapoel Emek and Bnei Herzliya will meet Monday (19:00) in the second Israel State Cup basketball semifinal as both teams are enjoying excellent seasons and share the same league record, 12 wins and four losses. Just ahead of the game, the respective coaches and captains spoke about the upcoming clash and the keys to advancing to the final where the winner of the Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem contest will be waiting.

Herzliya head coach Yehu Orland shared his initial thoughts, “There has to be special attention paid to this game. We need to give everything; otherwise, we could find ourselves with nothing. We’re coming prepared. There’s a process happening with this team and we want to take a step forward.”

On the starting lineup: “When you have good players, there’s a dilemma. I’ll make the decision I think is correct. So far, we’ve chosen correctly according to our opponents and that’s why we’re near the top of the table. You’ll have to wait to see.”

Key points: “We need to be very careful not to come in overconfident. We as coaches try to emphasize that. An athlete in their comfort zone is very dangerous, you won’t see that from us. We’re coming to win a game that begins 0-0.”

Hapoel Emek head coach Sharon Avrahami also spoke about the semifinal clash, “It’s an exciting event. I had the pleasure of being part of it as a player. We’ll need to play tough and be aggressive. Unfortunately, we have a few injuries and we’re still trying to get Aaron Wheeler fit.”

On the effort to bring as many fans as possible: “There have been major efforts. There’s great excitement in the Emek. The whole region loves basketball. Dozens of buses will arrive tomorrow.”

On the opponent: “Herzliya deserves a lot of respect for what they’ve done so far. Yehu is doing a great job. I hear everywhere that we’re the underdog and I like that. It’s one game; it will be interesting tomorrow. As for Rafi Menco, he’ll contribute tomorrow and going forward as well.”

Herzliya captain Shalev Lugashi spoke about the team’s feelings: “We’ve been preparing for over a week. Tactically, we’ll come ready. The team is very excited. We’re doing our maximum in practice. It’s no secret that every player who starts at a young age wants to be in this kind of setting. All the players are very excited. We’re coming to practice much sharper and really looking forward to the game.”

Team captain Roi Netzia shared the players’ emotions: “We’re very excited. For some of the players, this is a first opportunity. We’re coming to play aggressively and give everything. It’s true that it’s one game and for a title, but we’re trying to focus on doing the things we need to do.”