Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Jerusalem 77-68 in game 2 of their Israel Basketball League semifinal series, giving themselves a sweep 2-0 and a ticket to the finals against Maccabi Tel Aviv. J’Covan Brown was the main man Danny Franco’s squad as the guard helped spur the hosts to the finals for the first time in close to twenty years.

Maccabi Tel Aviv swept the Reds 3-0 back in 2005 as Hapoel will look to capture their first league title since the 1968-1969 campaign in which there were no title series but the championship was based on the final standings at the end of the season.

Game 1 of the best of 3 series tips-off on Thursday night at 21:00 IDT / 14:00 EDT at Yad Eliyahu, with game 2 at the Drive In on Sunday the 11th of June at 21:00 IDT / 14:00 EDT. To the extent that the teams split the first two games, the deciding game will be back at Yad Eliyahu on Tuesday June 13th of June at 21:00 IDT / 14:00 EDT.

Before the game got underway, Tomer Ginat added to his First Team selection by being announced as the Israeli MVP for the 2022-23 season giving the home crowd a positive start to an evening that would end with a trip to the finals.

Unlike the first game of the series, which Hapoel Tel Aviv was clearly the better team from start to finish, ultimately winning by 31 points, it was neck and neck for most of game two Saturday night. Hapoel Tel Aviv’s J’Covan Brown and Hapoel Jerusalem’s Oz Blayzer each started strong, scoring 6 points and 8 points respectively in the first quarter, with Hapoel Tel Aviv earning a 21-16 lead after 10 minutes. Neither, however, added to their personal scores for the remainder of the half – and Brown sat on the bench for the whole second quarter due to an injury – and after a lower-scoring second quarter, Hapoel Tel Aviv extended their lead by one point, to go into the halftime break ahead 38-32.

Brown came back with a vengeance in the third quarter as he played all 10 minutes and scored 18 points (Hapoel Tel Aviv’s only other point for the quarter a Jordan McRae free throw), going 5/7 from the field and 4/5 from the free throw line. However, the capital city reds managed to claw back over the course of the period courtesy of an all-round effort, including 8 points from Blayzer, 5 points from Speedy Smith and 4 points each by Zach Hankins and Levi Randolph (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block), giving them hope, as Hapoel Tel Aviv took a slender 57-55 lead into the final frame.

What hope Aleksandar Dzikic’s charges had to win and force a game 3 slowly faded away as McRae, Brown and an active Jaylen Hoard helped build a double digit lead over the course of the fourth quarter to wrap up the series and head to the finals for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Brown (29 points, 2 assists and 1 steal), Hoard (13 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal) and McRae (12 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist) led the way for the victors, while Blayzer (22 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block), Hankins (12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal) and Smith (12 points, 2 rebounds. 4 assists and 1 steal) paced Jerusalem in the loss.

“Of course, I’m very happy about the win and what the club has done this season,” Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Danny Franco said after the game. “We need to demand a little more from ourselves, to dream. We have tomorrow to rest, then we’ll prepare for game 1 on Thursday. We have two more games that we need to win.”

“Congratulations to HTA, they’re in the finals,” Hapoel Jerusalem coach Aleksandar Džikić said after the season-ending loss. “My opinion is that we pushed them to play their best basketball in the season. So I guess that’s some kind of show of respect for us.”

“Excitement, I’m happy that I found some energy to come back in the second half,” J’Covan Brown said. “My heart wouldn’t give up on me, I felt free today. I’ve been through a lot of injuries and if it’s 50-60% I’ll give what I have. I didn’t know if I was going to come back in the second half. Coach, teammates and I love this crowd. We are not going to lay down.”

“The last two games against Jerusalem, we really saw what we’re able to defend well,” Ginat commented of the team’s defense. “We all came with energy and we’re all positive – that’s the result.”