Sports can be cruel. They can be very cruel. Somehow the worst always comes out at the most critical point of a game and that’s exactly what happened down south in Eilat where Maccabi Tel Aviv slipped by Hapoel Eilat to punch their ticket to the league final.

But that is really only an afterthought as the game will be remembered not because of Casey Prather’s brilliant 28 point performance but his tragic knee injury with just 12 seconds left in a one point game that eventually ended 80-79 in favor of Maccabi to complete a 2-0 sweep of Eilat.

Sports can be cruel, very, very cruel.

The evening began so well for Prather as he collected an award for being selected as a First Team All-Star. Smiles were abound throughout the Begin Arena, as the fans were able to see one of their own players being named as one of the top five players in the league. His coach was beaming with pride as Eilat played 1000% better than they did in game one of the three game series.

But to see his coach Ariel Beit Halachmi in tears on the bench and to watch Prather’s best friend Scottie Wilbekin shaking on the sidelines as he had to shoot free throws was heartbreaking after his injury.

You never ever want to see a player wheeled off the court any time, but even more so at such a critical moment in a crucial game.

“It’s a very tough injury,” Beit Halachmi began. “I can’t talk basketball right now, only about Casey. He didn’t play basketball for a year and half after a previous injury and I brought him here. After just one day I saw that he was a great athlete, he’s a lion.”

“It breaks my heart and all of my thoughts are just about him. The game is not that important. He has had injuries before and I knowing him so well, I am sure that he will come back once again.”

But, injuries are part of the game as we have seen a number of players over the most few weeks suffer season ending knee issues including Dragan Bender and Adi Cohen Saban.

“I want to express my sympathy to Prather,” Maccabi coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos said. “It’s very sad when you see good players, players that are trying to play the game and then they get injured.”

And while the injury will certainly overshadow the win, respect has to be shown to those who also fought for that win as Chris Jones gave arguably his best performance while wearing the Yellow & Blue to will his team to the victory.

Jones matched Prather shot for shot and finished with 27 points in a spectacular showing that will certainly keep him at Yad Eliyahu next season as he continues to grow and grow as a point guard for the defending champions.

“Shout out to my teammates who played hard and got stops in crucial moments,” Jones said. “We could have made more free throws including myself. But credit to my teammates, coaches who believe in me and I am glad we got the win.”

Coach Sfairopoulos also spoke about his guards contribution, “Chris made the difference for us. He was terrific he was great and took the team on his shoulders with his performance. He gave us this big win. He has quality and he is a player that we believe in.”

Maccabi could have certainly played better going only 14/28, 50% from the free throw line and a paltry 6/24 (25%) from beyond the arc. Not the numbers you want to see from the Yellow & Blue but they squeaked by Eilat in what was an extremely underwhelming showing.

Should they play like this against Holon or Gilboa, they would need plenty of luck to win as they did at Eilat. And who knows what happens if Prather’s knee doesn’t give out and he gets to the hoop for a pair of points and a foul just like he did all game long.

But that is something we will never quite know.

But what we do know is that Maccabi Tel Aviv will now have a few days rest until the begin the finals on Sunday night against the winner of the semifinal series between Hapoel Gilboa Galil and Hapoel Holon. The Galilee squad holds a 1-0 lead in the series and will look to put Holon away at Gan Ner on Wednesday night in a series that could very well go to a decisive game 3 on Friday.

Jones is well aware as to how critical those days off are for the club, “Very very important with the extra days of rest that we all need, so it’s very crucial for us.”

A fresh Maccabi will cause either of those teams issues, but right now the only issue on everyone’s mind is Casey Prather’s welfare, as it should be.

Get well soon Casey!