Euroleague side Maccabi Tel Aviv won the Israeli Super League basketball championship for the second time in a row and the 57th overall, after beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 82-74 at home in the third and decisive derby game in the best-of-three playoff final series on Monday night.
A full house of 11,000 fans at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in south Tel Aviv saw Hapoel take a 24-21 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a strong team defense performance.
Maccabi responded with an 11-0 run, led by Roman Sorkin, at the beginning of the second quarter. However, Tomer Ginat and Tyler Ennis brought the Reds back to business, cutting their deficit to 38-39 at halftime.
Points by Xavier Munford and Ginat helped Hapoel take a 54-48 lead in the 27th minute, but Sorkin's contribution helped Maccabi lower the margin to 54-55 at the end of the third quarter.
Crucial points by Cuban power forward Jasiel Rivero in the last quarter awarded the win and the title for the Yellow-reds.
Sorkin topped Maccabi scorers with 19 points, alongside 9 rebounds. Rivero added 16 points and 8 rebounds. Ennis scored a team-high 17 points for Hapoel.
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