Hapoel Tel Aviv will host Ironi Kiryat Ata at The Drive In on Thursday (21:00 IDT \/ 14:00 EDT) in the first of their best of three games semifinal series.<\/p>\n
Both teams got through to the semifinals by sweeping their opponents 3-0 in the quarterfinal series: the Reds defeated Hapoel Haifa 97-66, 100-91 in overtime and 83-65; Kiryat Ata defeated Ramat Gan in what was the most-exciting of all the quarterfinal series 95-94, 94-84 in overtime and 74-72 in overtime.<\/p>\n
While on paper Hapoel will go into the series as favorites, given that they hold homecourt advantage and finished second after the regular season as opposed to the sixth-placed Kiryat Ata, nothing is guaranteed and this promises to be an exciting series. Hapoel had the better of Kiryat Ata during the season with two wins to one \u2013 with a 97-89 away win in January and a 98-77 win just a couple of weeks ago \u2013 but Kiryat Ata did get the better of Hapoel at The Drive In back in December with a 91-87 victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess everybody knows that Kiryat Ata is a very dangerous team,\u201d Hapoel coach Stefanos Dedas said in the press conference in the leadup to the series. \u201cObviously, they proved this all season. They\u2019re a well-coached team and we must not ignore the big task here. They won already at the Drive In earlier this season. So for sure, we need to be ready for the way they play \u2013 a lot of offensive rebounds, a lot of pressing, trying to steal the ball. We must take their strength and turn it into a disadvantage for them \u2013 I will try to prepare my players tactically and mentally to play our game to match their energy and to control the main strength defensively and offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very excited, it\u2019s clear to us that it\u2019ll be tough series,\u201d Hapoel star Tomer Ginat said. \u201cWe saw their aggressiveness in the series against Ramat Gan and the way that they come to games. We need to play very strongly, come from the first second and play the way that we know how to play, guard on defense and closeout rebounds. If we do that then we will be ok.\u201d<\/p>\n
While they made the league final last season only to lose to Maccabi in a nailbiter deciding game 3, the last time that Hapoel won a league championship was the 1968-69 season. But the pressure doesn\u2019t seem to phase the Reds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are aware of the importance of the game,\u201d Dedas said. \u201cJust to win through to the final, four wins for a championship. Tomorrow is a very important game. I think with the support of our fans, with our hustle and with our combination of energy and conservation and game plan, I think we have to win this game and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll win this game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the playoff semifinal, there\u2019s always pressure in the semifinals of the playoffs, but I think that there\u2019s enough experience in this team, both with the coach and the players, in order to know how to do it,\u201d Ginat said. \u201cWe know that we\u2019re a good team and we really believe in ourselves and we will come tomorrow to open the series as required.\u201d<\/p>\n