Maccabi Tel Aviv blew out Bnei Herzliya 137-75 in a lopsided affair that saw the yellow-and-blue dominate in every facet of the game as eight different players scored in double digits to notch the win. Oded Katash’s team came out on fire as seven different players went from beyond the arc in the first quarter to set the tone early as Tamir Blatt nailed five from deep while both Gur Lavy and Lonnie Walker retuned from injury and David Efianayi made his Maccabi debut to help Maccabi cruise to the victory.

Blatt scored 17 points, Lavy added 16 points while Iffe Lundberg and Will Rayman scored 15 points a piece in the win as Justin Edler-Davis scored 23 points in the loss.

Maccabi Head Coach Oded Katash reflected on the win, “This was a good game that we began properly from both sides of the court, we didn’t expect to win by this gap but we are really playing and doing things well ahead of the playoffs. The Israeli league is different than the Euroleague and we are really getting into that groove. Gur Lavy coming back is great and he’s an excellent player. He’s a quality player and an Israeli and we missed a player for this position as we also didn’t have TJ Leaf for some time. The Derby won’t be easy and while we shot well in this game I hope that it will continue.”

Herzliya Head Coach Yehu Orland spoke about the defeat, “The summary of the game was clear and we didn’t have a good performance and we have to improve before the begin the playoffs. We started the season with the goal of finishing in the top four which we did in our last game when we beat Hapoel HaEmek. We are proud of that and that was something that we were able to achieve as we came into this game without energy. Our character on the court in this game isn’t how we played all season long as we also played in the State Cup final. Bottom line is this was not a good game but we reached our goal.”

Gur Lavy commented on his return to action and the win, “Before everything I want to talk about Raz Adam and how much we will miss him. As for my return the staff did a great job to get me back to action. We have a lot of depth and we will be ready for the playoffs coming up as the coach will do a good job getting us ready.”

Shalev Lugashi looked back at the loss, “It was not a pleasant evening, we weren’t focused and didn’t do anything right. We finished in fourth place overall which was a goal. We came ready and we had some good practices they took over the game very quickly and they played at their pace which we couldn’t match.”

Maccabi came out flying as Iffe Lundberg, Jaylen Hoard, Will Rayman, Lonnie Walker, Gur Lavy, Tamir Blatt and John Dibartolomeo all went from deep in the opening frame to give the yellow-and-blue a 33-11 lead after ten minutes of play. Hoard and Lundberg continued to score, Oren Sahar and David Efianayi dialled up long distance to keep up the 3-point barrage, Deishuan Booker and Justin Edler-Davis tried to keep Bnei Herzliya relevant but Zach Hankins Rayman and Walker sent Oded Katash’s team into halftime with a 67-36 advantage.

Blatt kept pouring in the points, Dibartolomeo and Sahar scored as well, while Lundberg went from the outside and inside, while Lavy also scored in bunches to give Maccabi a 108-50 lead far thirty minutes of action. The fourth quarter featured garbage time galore as Rayman drilled home a corner 3-ball, Efianayi put in a baseline layup while Tamir Gold scored as well to close out the win.

Hapoel Tel Aviv downed Nes Ziona 81-75 thanks to Ish Wainright who dropped a half dozen triples over the course of the contest as the reds were able to comeback from a point down after thirty minutes of play and outscore the hosts over the course of the final frame to take the win. Ish Wainright scored 18 points, Yam Madar added 13 points and Levi Randolph scored 11 points in the victory while Bryce Brown scored 23 points and James Akinjo put in 15 points in the loss. Next up for Hapoel is a Tel Aviv Derby matchup on Thursday night.

Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis shared his thoughts after the contest, “I want to start by talking about the tragic event involving the late Raz Adam. My condolences to the family and of course, to the team. It’s a terrible way to lose a young man. As for the game, we came in with quite a few issues but with the right mentality. The players fought until the very end and in the end we came away with the win.

“It was not an easy game, Nes Ziona needed to win to secure a playoff spot, and they have an excellent team. They showed a different level of motivation after the changes they made. It was a good challenge for us. They scored 31 points in the second half and that was good from our perspective.”

Ish Wainright spoke about the win, “First of all, I want to begin with many prayers for the late Raz Adam. He was a tremendous player and I want to send my condolences to Galil and to his family. We knew it would be a good game, they have a good team. On smaller courts, the baskets feel bigger and it’s fun. I’m happy to return to Israel; the fans and the atmosphere are amazing. The derby? It’s a war. No need to elaborate.”

Maccabi Rishon Le’Zion defeated Maccabi Raanana 93-78 as Josh Freund helped the wine city squad pull ahead in the second half to secure the win for Guy Kaplan’s team. Rishon will face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the quarterfinals that begin next week. Freund scored 20 points, Chaunce Jenkins added 16 points as Qua Grant scored 13 points in the victory while Matt Coleman scored 19 points in the loss.