Hapoel Jerusalem captured their 7th Israel State Cup in the presence of President Isaac Herzog as the reds grabbed the lead in the second quarter thanks to an MVP performance by Speedy Smith to stay in front the rest of the way and take the 67-61 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

After an even first period, Speedy Smith got busy along with Oz Blayzer and Zach Hankins to help Aleksandar Dzikic’s team while Bonzie Colson and Lorenzo Brown’s efforts for the yellow-and-blue came up short as the Jerusalem faithful celebrated the title into the night.

“The whole process started this summer and I believe that we had just two guys once we started putting the team together” Jerusalem bench boss Aleksandar Dzikic said following the game. “We tried to sign the best Israeli players we could, some guys didn’t come. We built it different than what people are used to, but I believe these guys are good together. The sum is bigger than all the parts individually.”

“I want to congratulate Jerusalem for winning the cup and they deserve it as they were better than us,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Oded Katash said. “We started the game well and we were there defensively but offensively we have to really take a good look at how we played. We allowed them to run and we went down at halftime, we were under pressure, missed layups and easy shots.”

The game MVP, Speedy Smith spoke about winning the State Cup, “It’s great and I am happy to be a mid-season champ right now. The coach put the ball in my hands. Shoutout to Maccabi they have great players. Or Cornelius was amazing with defensive actions he changed the game a lot tonight. Coach had a game plan and the way he laid it out to us it was constant discussions. We just want to win games when it counts. It’s unbelievable and it’s only a small taste of the biggest one. 1 out of 3, two more to go.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Captain John Dibartolomeo reflected on the loss, “We missed layups, we missed free throws, we missed easy shots, give them credit, they played hard and they played well. We failed tonight but it doesn’t mean that the season is a failure. We have no choice but to look forward and we have no choice but to focus on the next game; that’s part of life and part of our job.”

Smith scored 16 points and added 9 assists, Blayzer scored 12 points, Levi Randolph added 11 points while Khadeen Carrington and Hankins each scored 10 points in the win. Brown and Colson scored 15 points a piece, while Josh Nebo and Wade Baldwin each added 10 points each in the loss.

Josh Nebo got Maccabi Tel Aviv on the scoresheet first while Speedy Smith found the bottom of the basket for Hapoel Jerusalem to get the first quarter underway, Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin scored layups as the yellow-and-blue grabbed an early 8-3 lead. Levi Randolph hit a pair of shots, Khadeen Carrington scored a tear drop, Bonzie Colson took a terrific Brown pass in for a deuce, Randolph put in a 3-point play, Colson nailed a fadeaway and then a 3-pointer to pull Maccabi even at 17-17 after ten minutes of action.

Carrington began the second quarter with a layup, Oz Blayzer drilled home a corner 3-ball, Carrington also went from deep, Colson dropped in a 3-point play but Speedy Smith went Fein Dow or to give Aleksandar Dzikic’s team a 28-21 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Smith fed Hankins for an alley-oop, Martin put in a 3-point play, Hankins came back with another jam, Brown dialled up long distance, Martin and Smith traded baskets and then put one right in over Roman Sorkin, Smith then gave Hankins another ball in his happy zone to send the Reds into halftime with a 40-31 advantage.

John Dibartolomeo traded triples to get the third quarter off and running, Brown went deep from the corner but so did Mareks Mejeris as Nebo dunked but Jerusalem still stayed in front 48-39 midway through the period. Nebo cleaned up a Brown ball, Smith put home a 3-pointer, Nebo once again grabbed a big board for points in the paint, Colson scored a deuce, Blayzer did as well to send Hapoel into the final frame with a 54-48 lead.

Colson put in a 3-point play and dunked to begin the fourth quarter, Brown scored points off the glass while Jerusalem scored from the charity stripe to stay in front 59-55 with five minutes remaining in regulation time. Hankins put the ball in the basket, Nebo dunked, Brown hit a jumper, Or Cornelius did the same as Smith knocked down his free throws to polish off the victory and take home the cup.