Maccabi Tel Aviv is still alive and kicking for a Play In spot after defeating Fenerbahce 94-89 in Euroleague play. This was yet another game that saw how critical the club’s Israeli contingent was yet again as Roman Sorkin and Tamir Blatt both starred for Oded Katash’s squad. But it wasn’t only Sorkin and Blatt, it was also the yellow-and-blue’s veteran captain John Dibartolomeo along with foreigners Oshae Brissett, Jimmy Clark and Jaylen Hoard who helped Maccabi defeat the first place team and chalk up the win that keeps the club still “in the game” for a postseason slot as the season winds down.

If Maccabi would have come up short, well, it would have pretty much been curtains but now with a record of 16-16 good for 12th place, Katash’s crew is still there and competing for a Play In spot with six games to go. At Belgrade, their wartime home away from home against the reining Euroleague champs Fenerbahce, the yellow-and-blue showed what they are made of and that that are certainly worthy of a place in the postseason.

Maccabi is now two wins out of tenth place and three victories for a spot between sixth and ninth where four teams all have a 19-14 record. There’s no question that this is a big hill, actually a very big mountain still to climb, but not an impossible one. Should they go 6-0 in their final six matchups, it would be very hard to see how they would not clinch a Play In spot with a record of 22-16. Even if they go 5-1 they will have a chance going down to the wire which at this stage of the season, knowing how it began and where it’s going to end would be very admirable.

Katash not only has worked his magic in a more than difficult situation that almost saw him on the way out a number of months ago, but it was the trust he placed in the Israeli players on his roster that ultimately paid dividends. Whether it was Sorkin and Blatt against Fener and ASVEL, or Gur Lavy who has started to look like a legitimate Euroleague player in the making or 35-year old captain Dibartolomeo who has turned back the clock time and time again, along with Will Rayman, it’s been the Israeli contingent that has kept the Maccabi boat afloat.

The bench boss’s future with the club is no doubt cloudy and he could easily land up coaching somewhere else next season as he will be a free agent and hasn’t been offered or signed an extension with the yellow-and-blue. But assistant coach and former star Guy Pnini looks like he can take the handles from Katash and keep Maccabi moving in the right direction as he has been learning the craft for the past two seasons under one of the best in the business.

Maccabi’s Israelis have been a crucial part of the club for years and right now, the Sabra squad is the top of the top and are the key players in what has been without question a very challenging and interesting season to say the least.

Over at Hapoel Tel Aviv, the opposite has been quite true. The Israelis have had little if no impact on the team whatsoever. In fact, the reds who are now playing back in Sofia, Bulgaria where they had begun their campaign, has been a much better home than Yad Eliyahu was over the past few months.

Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis has a goal and that is to remain in the Euroleague after having won the EuroCup last season. It doesn’t matter how it will be done and who will be the stars of the show, but that is what he has been mandated to do by owner Ofer Yannay.

If that means Israeli players won’t get significant playing time in the Euroleague so be it. If the likes of Yam Madar, Bar Timor, Tomer Ginat (who is injured), Oz Blayzer, Iftach Ziv, Itay Segev and Guy Palatin are not dressed or don’t play meaningful minutes, that’s fine as long as the wins keep coming which has been the case since returning to Sofia.

Victories over Bologna, Paris and Barcelona righted the Hapoel ship, while a loss to Real Madrid in Spain was hopefully just a hiccup, however, there are a number of huge matchups on the way and if the Israelis don’t play, they don’t play.

Itoudis doesn’t have to deal with the Israeli media and his focus now can be 1000% on advancing to the playoffs with home court advantage. Whatever will be with the Israeli league due to the war with Iran, shall be.

But now, with the quiet and focus solely on meeting the mission at hand, one must assume that the Greek tactician couldn’t be happier. No questions about why the Israelis aren’t playing, no queries about the poor attendance and catcalls after defeats in a half empty arena along with no issues with the maligned fan base.

Hapoel is under pressure to meet its goals because if they don’t they are out. If that means using the best players that don’t include Israelis, then that’s what it is. However, it’s just sad to see how out of touch the franchise is with its core and backbone, it’s base.

The club has in effect turned into Hapoel Sofia and has lost its identity of Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Has it been worth it?

That’s the question that remains to be answered.