Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Bayern Munich 85-77 on Sunday evening in the final of the preseason tournament in Cagliari, in what was also the team’s final tune-up game before the start of the season. Hapoel Tel Aviv controlled the game and led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but Bayern cut the deficit to just one point by the end of the period. Ultimately, a 23-16 fourth quarter in Hapoel’s favor decided the game.

Scoring for Hapoel Tel Aviv: Antonio Blakeney 17 points, Amir Coffey 15 (5 rebounds), Zach LeDay 12, for Bayern, MarJon Beauchamp led all scorers with 23 points.

Dimitris Itoudis said, “They say the results don’t matter in preseason games, but you always play to win, so we’re happy that we responded. We played against Roma in a way that wasn’t appropriate, so we watched the game again and analyzed what we did wrong and what needed to change. The players responded and came with a different approach, and that’s what I appreciate most about the game against Bayern. We played against a serious EuroLeague team, and it was a good performance for us. We were the better team on the floor and won the tournament.”

Ahead of the Super Cup derby, he added, “We’re dealing with a few illnesses and some workload-management issues, but overall we’re working very hard. We’ll come in very aggressive and very focused, ready to fight and bring our fans a lot of joy.”

Amir Coffey also spoke about the preseason, “It feels good to finish the preseason 6-0. I feel like we’ve built good momentum and worked on the things we needed to, so we’re definitely ready for what’s ahead. Everyone has explained to me how important the derby is, everyone is excited, and we’ll be as ready as possible. We can be happy with how we looked in the preseason games. We watched a lot of film and polished our team play, so I’m confident we’re ready for our first official game.”

On Saturday, the Reds defeated Roma 80-78.