Hapoel Tel Aviv got past Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion 96-83 as Vasilije Micic starred in the final frame to help the reds to the victory and the 2-1 quarterfinal series win to set up a semifinals date with Hapoel Jerusalem that will begin on Sunday night. Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad jumped out to an early double digit lead as Yam Madar set the pace early, but Guy Kaplan’s team came back to keep the game close through the end of the third quarter as DJ Burns, Gabe Devo and Golan Gutt all scored for the visitors.

However, Micic dropped ten quick points to begin the final French while Jonathan Motley and Oz Blayzer also scored to close out the win. Micic scored 23 points, Motley added 22 points, Madar scored 19 points and Blayzer scored 12 points in the victory while Burns scored 20 points, Devo put in 18 points as Gutt and Freund scored 12 points in the loss.

Hapoel Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis spoke about the win, “We had a good series and we had to put in a good fight. We all hope that Tai’s injury isn’t serious but we have Itay Segev, Ish Wainright and Tomer Ginat can play that position. We lost a lot of power due to injuries and absences. We will fight and we will earn things on the court. Micic and Madar played well together as ball creators and we can even play with Chris Jones and go really small. We need to be more consistent on the defensive side but we are very determined. We are going to fight whoever we play.”

Rishon Head Coach Guy Kaplan looked back at the loss, “We played them so many times the past few weeks and while we didn’t start the game well we were able to comeback by sticking to the game plan. I can’t take anything for granted here and the guys did a great job. From the first day I was here I saw the guys were hungry, they wanted to learn and were able to understand how to play and adjust to the top league. I told them that character and hunger are the most important things and it’s sad that this is the end of the season.”

Josh Freund reflected on the game, “No one gave us a chance all year, no one expected us to be in this game and we were able to fight for this opportunity. We were missing some possessions, breakdowns and some small things. We didn’t make too many changes as far as players go and we worked and competed in game three. Great coach and said he wasn’t going to take any baloney and we stuck to his game plan. He tried to maximize us and got the most out of this group.”

Jonathan Motley talked about the win and his role, “It was a good series and they played hard. It wasn’t easy and we had to show some character after we lost the first game. I’m used to it and I want to help my team win.”

Yam Madar went from the outside and inside and Vailisje Micic put in a 3-point play for Hapoel Tel Aviv to get the game off and running, JJ Kaplan, Amin Stevens and Josh Freund scored to calm the opening storm but an Oz Blayzer corner 3-ball and an Odiase dunk gave the hosts a 25-16 lead after ten minutes of play.

Jonathan Motley scored for the reds, Gabe Devo and DJ Burns countered for Rishon to take a 38-35 lead midway through the second quarter but Micic and Madar went from downtown to head into halftime with a 46-38 advantage.

Blayzer led off the third quarter with a pair from downtown, Kaplan responded from beyond the arc and Burns put in a 3-point play, Micic came back from deep, Gutt drained a pair of 3-pointers while Chaunce Jenkins and Freund also scored from from long distance but another one by Gutt pulled Guy Kaplan’s team to within just a pair of points 68-66 after thirty minutes of action.

Micic did as he pleased to begin the fourth quarter as he put in a 3-point play, a pair of triples and free throws to quickly bump up the lead for Dimitrios Itoudis’s side to double digits, Burns went from deep to keep Rishon hanging around but baskets by Motley and Ish Wainright put the game and the series away.