Maccabi Tel Aviv hung on to defeat Maccabi Ramat Gan 86-83 to capture the Winner Cup. Jaylen Hoard was named MVP as he paced the yellow-and-blue early on while Levi Randolph closed out the 3-point victory.

Oded Katash’s squad came out of the gates scoring at will as Jaylen Hoard, Tamir Blatt and Roman Sorkin all found points with ease to head into halftime with a 48-36 lead. However, Shmulik Brenner’s team controlled the third quarter as Roi Huber, Amin Stevens along with Kendale McCullum and Adam Ariel put Ramat Gan in front 62-61 after thirty minutes.

But Maccabi without an injured Tamir Blatt who went down with an apparent knee injury to begin the final frame, pulled ahead thanks to David DeJulius and free throws down the stretch by Levi Randolph and John Dibartolomeo to close out the win.

Randolph scored 20 points, Hoard added 17 points, DeJulius put in 15 points and Dibartolomeo scored 11 points in the victory. Huber scored 16 points, Stevens chipped in with 15 points while McCullum and Ariel each scored 11 points each in the loss.

“I’m happy that we reached our goal of winning the game,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Oded Katash began. “We controlled the first half but then we went back and had some issues in the third quarter but Ramat Gan also deserve some credit for that as well. We are concerned about Tamir Blatt and his injury as he just returned so we will hope it’s not too serious.”

“We’re disappointed and we started the game off a bit rough,” Ramat Gan head coax began. “But as a team that is in the top league for just a second season and to compete for a title we should be proud, we were able to match their intensity and aggressiveness. They also went 16/17 from the line while they hit all of their free throws down the stretch which is expected by a team of their level.”

The game MVP Jaylen Hoard spoke about winning the Winner Cup, “It feels amazing. I’ve said it a few times, that I’ve been here in Israel for three years and I haven’t won something yet so it feels really exciting. The block I made near the end of the game was a big play and I anticipated Isaiah Miles’s shot which helped us sew up the win. It doesn’t surprise me as to how I’ve been playing as the coaches have helped me adjust to the Euroleague.”

Benyahu Srur looked back on the game, “We really played tough and we battled all the way to the end. We weren’t aggressive enough in the first half but we all fought so hard together. I come into every game focussed and concentrating on what is in front of us as a team. Those who know me know that I’ll come in and I’ll put it all on the line. We fought like real lions out there.

Tamir Blatt and Roman Sorkin went from deep for Maccabi Tel Aviv to open up the game, Jaylen Hoard added a 3-point play, John Dibartolomeo dialled up long distance, Adam Ariel scored as the shot clock ran out while Blatt hit a jumper to give the yellow-and-blue a 18-5 lead midway through the period. Roi Huber went from downtown, Levi Randolph came back with an and-1, Benayahu Srur scored inside as did Rafi Menco, Huber once again went from deep and David DeJulius came back with points to keep Maccabi in front 25-16 after ten minutes of play.

Amin Stevens began the second quarter with points, Wenyen Gabriel came right back at the other end, Hoard added a trio of buckets in the paint, Roberto Gallinat went from deep but so did Blatt as Maccabi stayed in front 36-24 with 5:30 left in the first half. Hoard stripped Huber and dunked, Dibartolomeo went from beyond the arc, Randolph put in a floater, DeJulius knocked down a jumper, Will Rayman got on the stat sheet with a 3-pointer, Kendale McCullum put in points but Oded Katash’s squad took a 48-36 advantage into halftime.

Drew Crawford led off the third quarter with points as he glided in for a layup, McCullum scored off a break, Stevens and Ariel added points as Ramat Gan cut the Maccabi lead to 51-47 midway through the frame. Randolph came back with points, Yahel Melamed and Stevens responded, DeJulius hit a pair from deep, Huber did the same while Stevens scored to give Shmulik Brenner’s team a 62-61 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Blatt went down in a heap with what seems to be a right knee injury as he was helped off the court to begin the fourth quarter, Sorkin, Hoard and DeJulius all scored, Stevens responded, but Randolph with a bucket and a Hoard dunk gave Maccabi a 76-66 lead with just over five minutes remaining in regulation time. Huber scored to keep Ramat Gan hanging around, Randolph and Dibartolomeo went from downtown, Miles and Ariel dropped triples, Crawford did as well but free throws by Dibartolomeo and Randolph iced the game as Maccabi took the first title of the season.