Hapoel crushed Maccabi 115-97 in the Tel Aviv Derby as Yam Madar starred with 41 points in the win. After a close opening frame it was all reds as Madar who went 9/10 from beyond the arc, along with Chris Jones, Vasilije Micic and Jonathan Motley scored at will to take the victory. Dimitrios Itoudis’s squad will now ready for Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion while Oded Katash’s team will play Hapoel Beer Sheva in quarterfinal playoff action that begins next week.

Madar scored 41 points, Jones added 21 points and Motley scored 20 points in the win as Roman Sorkin scored 16 points while David Efianayi and John Dibartolomeo each scored 12 points in the loss.

Hapoel Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis reflected on the victory, “We were the better team and we deserved to win. It may not have had any effect on the standings but it was a derby and the guys stepped up. We had three ball creators that gave us ideas and we had a lot of open looks, we shot really well around 50% and we are used to this arena. Yam was terrific. We had some ups and downs in the regular season but as to where we were in both competitions we are proud.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash talked about the loss, “This was a very bad game for us and the game was very important for the fans and that was the only thing that this game was for as it didn’t have any effect on the standings or anything else. We got a good slap right before the playoffs which won’t be easy and there are plenty of good teams that we will meet. We have to take this lesson which came right in time just as the playoffs are about to begin.”

Jonathan Motley looked back at the win, “We played good as a team and we are always excited for the derby and show pride to the fans. We get paid to do a job and we try to do that to the best of our abilities. Yam’s my twin and we played together at Fener as well and we are very close. I’ve always been of fan of him and he showed what he’s capable of.”

Will Rayman spoke about the defeat, “We definitely lost and now we have to get ready for the playoffs. It’s dusk to lose the Derby and we’re sorry for the fans. It’s game that we should have won and now we have to prepare for the playoffs. They shot well from 3 and it’s more film to get better. We’ll keep it in mind. We have to go back to work and win the championship.”

Iffe Lundberg scored for Maccabi while Yam Madar answered for Hapoel to get the Derby off and running, Will Rayman went from deep while Jonathan Motley scored from the inside, Marcio Santos went from the outside and inside but went out with 3 early fouls while Chris Jones scored a pair of baskets but the yellow-and-blue stayed in front 27-26 after ten minutes of play.

Jones and Madar opened up the second quarter with points, Keandre Cook and Motley also scored, Lonnie Walker and David Efianayi began to find the bottom of the basket from the inside and outside but Jones and Madar kept filling the bucket to take a 56-47 advantage at halftime.

Madar and John Dibartolomeo traded triples to start the third quarter, Micic also went from deep as Madar kept scoring at will, Lundberg, Roman Sorkin and Blatt tried to keep Oded Katash’s team relevant but more points from deep for Madar bumped the reds lead up to 87-70 after thirty minutes of action.

Efianayi began the fourth quarter with points but Guy Palatin and Jones both went from downtown, Madar and Motley added points as Dimitrios Itoudis’s team rolled to the blowout victory.