Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel HaEmek 98-88 as the Gilboa based team played with only five players and had to end the game with just four as Nick Ogenda went out with an injury. The yellow-and-blue did play with their naturalized Israelis John Dibartolomeo and Will Rayman but without their senior Israeli born players in Tamir Blatt and Roman Sorkin. Iffe Lundberg scored 21 points, Oshae Brissett added 16 points and Zach Hankins put in 14 points in the win while Kyler Edwards scored 39 points in the loss.

John DiBartolomeo spoke about the situation, “Of course basketball was not the main focus, unfortunately. This was the first time we heard about the strike in the past month; it’s not that we don’t support the Israeli players, but to find out on the way to the game. We have a commitment to the team, especially as captain. If they want everyone together and I believe they do we can all agree that what we saw today is not something any of us want.

“Honestly, I wasn’t focused on the game today, I wasn’t myself. Until game time, I didn’t know what was going to happen. It’s a difficult position to be in. I think we all need to find a way to move forward, of course. The fact that we played today doesn’t mean we don’t support this. We acted professionally.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash said after the game, “It was very strange for everyone. Not a simple situation, not something I’ve experienced or remember experiencing. Without getting into the details of the incident, I hope it gets resolved in a way that’s good for everyone. It doesn’t add pride to our league. Even those who played, like John, who took it hard, it affected everyone. For the foreign players as well, it was very strange.

“We had two players who were not supposed to play many minutes. John and Will showed responsibility. In the end, the win was important for us. Of course, we would have been happier if it had happened in a more sporting manner. Everything happened so quickly, from one moment to the next. I’m not too involved in the details, but I hope it gets resolved positively.”

Hapoel HaEmek Head Coach Sharon Avrahami also shared his thoughts on the situation “There’s always a first time. A difficult, surreal situation. At 9:50am today we were preparing for a normal game and suddenly the strike happened. A sad day for basketball. Cameron Henry was not supposed to be in the lineup, but because of the situation he stepped up and played as much as he could.

“The guys gave everything, and I really, really appreciate that. We missed the family atmosphere and the connected group that we had all season. We have mixed emotions about this whole situation, especially during an amazing season with playoff battles still ahead of us. It’s not a matter of who is right.”

Kiryat Ata downed Elitzur Netanya 124-103 in a game that saw each team field their five foreigners and a youth player due to the ongoing Israeli player strike. Rob Edwards scored 31 points and Brendan Medley-Bacon added 27 points in the win while Maurice Kemp scored 25 points and Javante McCoy put in 24 points in the loss.