Maccabi dominated Hapoel to take the Tel Aviv Derby at Yad Eliyahu 95-78 avenging their loss to the reds a few weeks ago at the Drive In a few weeks ago. Hapoel looked like the better team over the course of the first quarter by staying a step or two in front of Maccabi, but quick points near the end of the opening frame by big man Jasiel Rivero and captain John Dibartolomeo cut the lead down to a manageable 4-points. From there Oded Katash’s squad took off scoring at ease with key points by Jake Cohen and from there Bonzie Colson and Wade Baldwin helped build up a double digit lead and to take home the victory.

The yellow-and-blue will continue their busy week making up league games that has been postponed due to the war and Euroleague when they host Maccabi Ramat Gan on Tuesday, visit Jerusalem for the Classico on Friday afternoon and then welcome Hapoel Galil Elyon on Sunday. Hapoel Tel Aviv will welcome in Hapoel Afula on Wednesday and visit Hapoel Holon on Saturday night.

Colson scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Rivero added 12 points and 13 boards while Dibartolomeo and Roman Sorkin each scored 12 points in the win. Xavier Munford scored 18 points as Jaylen Hoard and Will Cummings each scored 12 points in the loss.

“This was a good game for us and we held them to under 20 points in three of the quarters,” Katash said following the game. “They had a good first quarter and then we cut them down after that, we controlled the boards with 15 more rebounds. But outside of basketball this was the first time we played in front of a full arena with the amazing energy since the first Euroleague game against Partizan.”

“We opened the game up very well and we were very smart in how we played on both sides of the court,” Hapoel coach Danny Franco said. “But in the 8th minute we gave us a ton of points very quickly. We make some substitutes and but also lost some of our focus. We tried to get back into the match and it just wasn’t our game.”

Maccabi captain John Dibartolomeo spoke about the victory, “Every game is important, debris take on a whole other meaning for us. We have been here before and I am happy as to how we responded. We haven’t been good defensively as of late and that was a challenge for us coming into this game as they are a very good offensive team. They still played well but we did enough to get the win.”

Jaylen Hoard also locked back at the clash from his point of view, “Rebounding was a big reason they won the game by that margin and it’s something we spoke about. They attacked the glass and had a lot of second chances and it’s something we have to correct if we want to go far this season either in the EuroCup or Israeli league.”

Wade Baldwin went from deep for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Kyle Alexander scored a 3-point play for Hapoel Tel Aviv, J’Covan Brown went from long distance and Xavier Munford found points inside to give the Reds a 9-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Baldwin checked in with a 3-point play, Alexander responded by putting down a poster dunk, Tomer Ginat scored an easy deuce, Jaylen Hoard glided into the paint for one as well. Jasiel Rivero came charging through the paint for a pair of baskets while John Dibartolomeo put in a 3-pointer at the buzzer but Hapoel took a 24-20 lead after ten minutes of play.

Rivero kept scoring off the glass as did Rafi Menco, Jake Cohen scored from the inside and the outside, Josh Nebo added points in the paint, Lorenzo Brown hit a jumper to give the yellow-and-blue a 35-30 lead with 5:30 left in the first half. Ginat went from beyond the arc, Brown hit a tear drop, Munford responded, Sorkin and Dibartolomeo went from deep, Hoard answered but Sorkin’s monster dunk gave Maccabi a 46-41 advantage at halftime.

J’Covan Brown and Bonzie Colson traded baskets, Dibartolomeo knocked down a jumper and then went from downtown, Colson went off the glass for 3 as Will Cummings came back with but Oded Katash’s squad bumped the lead up to 58-50 midway through the third quarter. Nebo put in a deuce, Hoard matched him at the other end, Menco came off the baseline for a bucket, Timor came back with a layup, Munford went for a trio of baskets but a Nebo dunk and points from Rivero gave Maccabi a 71-60 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Munford went from deep, Baldwin and Colson went for a pair of baskets, Nebo dunked and Sorkin put down a 3-point play to give the hosts a 81-65 lead with 5:23 remaining in regulation time. Lorenzo Brown stole the ball and went in for a deuce, Colson and Cummings traded buckets but for Hapoel Tel Aviv it was too little too late as Maccabi rolled to the victory.

In other Israeli league action, Hapoel Afula knocked off Hapoel Beer Sheva 91-76 as the hosts held the southern reds to just 9 points in the 3rd quarter to build up a double digit lead and notch the win. Cassius Stanley scored 31 points and Marcellus Earlington added 20 points in the win while Grant Sherfield scored 18 points in the loss.

Bnei Herzliya nipped Hapoel Holon 75-72 as Eitan Burg, Reggie Lynch and Tyler Stone made sure to hold onto the lead late in the game and cancel out Kevin Hervey’s stellar debut for the purples. Stone scored 14 points, Burg added 11 points and Lynch chipped in with 10 points in the win while Hervey scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a losing effort.