It was turn back the clock night and back to the future all in one for Maccabi Tel Aviv in their Israel Basketball League semifinal game one win over Hapoel Eilat as Omri Casspi looked as fine as he did a decade ago and rising star Yovel Zoosman looked the part of closer.

The Yellow & Blue pounded the Red Sea squad throughout the game, never allowing Ariel Beit Halachmi’s team a chance to get into the game by beating the them 88-72 at Yad Eliyahu in front of a rambunctious crowd of more than 6,000 fans, the biggest crowd since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020.

Casspi came out like a house on fire setting the tone early for Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s charges with 10 points over the opening 8 minutes of the game while hitting his shots from the outside and the inside as the first Israeli in the NBA looked like a man on a mission.

A mission that could have ended in double the 17 points he scored in 18:12 should he have played more, that’s how hot Casspi was.

While the 32-year old Casspi hasn’t made this type of impact in quite some time, the confident 23-year old Yovel Zoosman continued his fine display from his MVP Israel State Cup performance with 14 points in the final frame, going 4/4 from 3-point range while ending his evening with 16 points to salt away game one of the best of 3 semifinal series.

With a vintage Casspi and an up and coming Zoosman in tow, Maccabi Tel Aviv are going to be very, very hard to beat. In fact, both players have a bit of a chip on their shoulders after being injured last postseason and not being able to make an impact on the 2020 title run.

“I give 100% every game and my character is to always give it my all,” Zoosman stated. “If you’re here (at Maccabi) you have to give it your all. It’s black and white for me and not grey. If I give 100% at Maccabi Tel Aviv, everyone will see that. I am here so people remember me, I am here for the next 15-20 years from now so that people will remember as to what I was able to contribute, not for anything else.”

Strong words from Zoosman who will be a free agent at the end of the season and as there are rumours he may look beyond the borders of the Holy Land. However, it’s clear from his statement that his heart is with the Yellow & Blue and what impact he wants to have with the club. He could very well be that Israeli player who will lead the team over the course of the next decade.

Zoosman’s day didn’t begin on the right foot as he picked up a pair of first quarter fouls and had to come out midway through the frame. However, according to coach Sfairopoulos, it may have been a blessing in disguise. “Yovel was lucky he had two early fouls and I had to protect him which gave him extra security and he knows that he had to be ready. It’s not easy to come back in after sitting for so long.”

As for Casspi the bench boss also praised the veteran’s revival, “Casspi is one of our main guys and gave us some extra when we don’t have it. I’m very happy with how he played.”

While Maccabi took a 1-0 lead in their best of 3 series with Eilat, it’s far, far from over. Beit Halachmi’s team have a terrific roster despite having lost Josh Nebo who left during the security situation as Casey Prather, Joe Ragland, Markel Brown and the rest of the roster provide a high octane offense as they lead the league in points per game with 92.

“This was not one of our best games offensively and Maccabi was able to close us down defensively,” the Eilat coach said. “We will have to make adjustments in the next game and it will be a different game in Eilat. We are way past the player who left (Nebo) and we have a lot of proud players who have tremendous experience but the story isn’t over and we know have what to do.”

Sfairopoulos also spoke about holding the visitor’s offense down to a minimum, “We were very concentrated and we played the best offense of the league. We kept them twenty points under their average. We had good rhythm on offense and we had good options. We controlled the game.”

“We wanted to disorganize their game and we didn’t allow them to play the game that they were used to. The players know that this is money time and to show up which they did. One of the targets was to stop Prather and he’s a great scorer as well as Ragland who is a good creator. They are both quality players but if you don’t play defense they can double their output.”

The fans came out in droves to see their team as they packed into Yad Eliyahu to push their team on which was definitely a sight for sore eyes according to Zoosman, “There’s no question I enjoyed the game today and the fans were great, I was sky high.”

“The fans were very vocal and this was the most fans we’ve had since the start of corona,” concurred Sfairopoulos. “We want them here with us and with their support we play much better. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Maccabi know full well that the job isn’t done and a trip to Eilat is now on tap for the Yellow & Blue where they will want to polish off the series and then prepare to tipoff against the winner of the Hapoel Holon and Hapoel Gilboa Galil series that gets going on Monday night.

Sfairopoulos knows that if Maccabi will come out complacent they will be back in Tel Aviv on Thursday night, which is the last thing the team wants to have to do. “We have to play in Eilat and we know that they will react and they will play a different game there. It’s not easy to take these trips mentally but now it’s the playoffs and they will push the tempo on their home court. We need to fight hard and be patient.”

Patience will be a virtue on Tuesday as Maccabi will be able to use their depth to their advantage as they did on Sunday which left all five Eilat players on the court with five minutes left in the game bent over with their hands on their knees. “This is the end of the season and we have only a few games left. Exhaustion is part of the story but we have to come back on Tuesday and play better. I’m sure we will,” explained Beit Halachmi.

“We have to comeback on Tuesday and play hard and control the game,” Zoosman said.” We want to end it 2-0 and not lose a game. We haven’t don’t anything yet.”