Vasilije Micic scored 29 points and added 10 assists to lead Hapoel Tel Aviv past Maccabi Tel Aviv 80-74 in Game 3 of the Israel Basketball League finals on Sunday, cutting the yellow-and-blue’s lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1. The win at Yad Eliyahu keeps the Reds alive heading into Game 4, set for Tuesday night at the same Tel Aviv arena where Maccabi can close out the title with one more win. Hapoel held Maccabi under 75 points for the first time in the series after allowing 96 and 102 in the first two games.
Micic’s MVP Night Stops the Sweep
Micic, Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 32-year-old Serbian point guard, was named game MVP after a 29-point, 10-assist performance. “We knew we had to give everything, and that’s what we did,” Micic said. “I tried to do my best, and I think we had good momentum. We made good decisions, and that was the difference from the previous games in the series.”
The MVP showing marked a sharp swing from Micic’s Game 2 night, when he finished with 11 points on 1-of-5 shooting from two and 3-of-8 from three. The Reds needed their floor general at his best with their season on the line, and he delivered. Micic took over in the second quarter, built a 43-36 halftime lead with the help of a stingy Hapoel defense, and made the plays down the stretch.
“I’m trying to lead the team,” he said. “Everyone gave everything they had, Tomer Ginat, Yam Madar, everyone contributed, and it’s very important that everyone contributed and made an impact.” Tai Odiase added a dunk highlight, and the Reds never lost the lead after halftime. The win was Hapoel’s first of the series and their first at home in the finals.
How the First Two Games Built the Hole
Hapoel walked into Game 3 trailing 2-0 in a series that started with a 21-point blowout. Maccabi won Game 1 at Yad Eliyahu 96-75, a game the yellow-and-blue controlled from the second quarter on, with Jaylen Hoard scoring 20 points and Tamir Blatt adding 11 assists. The Game 1 boxscore shows Maccabi leading in every quarter, with the hosts pulling away in the third.
Hapoel pushed the visitors to the brink in Game 2 at the same venue but fell 102-98, with Yam Madar scoring 34 points in the loss. Maccabi’s Game 2 win was sealed in the third quarter, when the yellow-and-blue outscored Hapoel 33-25 to take a lead they never relinquished. The Game 2 boxscore from the Winner League shows Madar going 4-of-10 from two and 5-of-9 from three in 35 minutes, with Iffe Lundberg scoring 25 points for Maccabi and Hoard adding 14. The game drew 8,252 fans to Yad Eliyahu. The loss left Hapoel needing three straight wins to take the title.
Snapshot: The series scoreboard after Game 3.
- Game 1 (16 June): Maccabi 96, Hapoel 75. Maccabi led 1-0.
- Game 2 (18 June): Maccabi 102, Hapoel 98. Maccabi led 2-0.
- Game 3 (21 June): Hapoel 80, Maccabi 74. Maccabi leads 2-1.
- Game 4: Tuesday 23 June, Yad Eliyahu, Tel Aviv.
Itoudis’s Defensive Adjustments Held Maccabi to 74
Hapoel head coach Dimitrios Itoudis pointed to a single number when explaining what changed. “Keeping Maccabi at 74 points shows how much we made in terms of defensive adjustments,” he said after the win. The yellow-and-blue had scored 96 and 102 in Games 1 and 2.
The Reds forced more turnovers in Game 3 and committed fewer of their own. “We had to make sure to stay composed, and we built up our trust,” Itoudis said. The extra day between Game 2 and Game 3 was a factor, in his view. “It was really helpful that we had an extra day, and it allowed us to make adjustments,” he added.
Itoudis is the coach who led Hapoel to their first European title last season, sweeping Gran Canaria 2-0 in the EuroCup finals in Spain after beating Valencia in the semifinals. That run, the first EuroCup win for an Israeli club in 21 years, earned Hapoel a place in the EuroLeague for 2025-26, the club’s first season in the top continental competition. The full account of the Hapoel Tel Aviv’s first EuroCup title is also online.
Hapoel finished the regular season 22-4 and second in the league standings behind Maccabi at 24-2. The Game 3 win was their first in three tries against the yellow-and-blue this postseason. Hapoel advanced through a semifinal series against Hapoel Jerusalem that included a court-ordered replay of Game 1 and an 88-84 Game 2 win in the capital.
Maccabi’s Missed Closeout, and What It Hands the Reds
Maccabi bench boss Oded Katash did not soften the postgame message. “We wanted to win this game a lot, and I can’t say anything against the effort the guys put in,” he said. “We didn’t execute well offensively, and we didn’t think this was going to be easy. We knew who we were playing.”
Katash pointed to a short rotation and a fourth-quarter lead that slipped away. “Despite that, we still led near the end, but this is a series, and we now have to respond,” he said. Hapoel held three Maccabi scorers in double figures, a sharp drop from the 96 and 102 points Maccabi posted in Games 1 and 2.
Oshae Brissett was direct about the missed chance. “We know we should have closed it out, but we have to make the adjustments,” he said. “We had some mental lapses, and there are some things that we can fix. They have one day off like us, and it won’t be an excuse; we will play much better on Tuesday.” The Game 3 scoring leaders:
| Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Vasilije Micic | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 29 |
| Jimmy Clark | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 24 |
| Iffe Lundberg | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 15 |
| Ish Wainright | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 12 |
| Tai Odiase | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 12 |
| Jaylen Hoard | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 12 |
Game 4 on Tuesday, and the Stakes at Yad Eliyahu
Hapoel still trails the series 2-1, and a loss on Tuesday ends the season. A win would send the best-of-five back to a deciding Game 5 in Tel Aviv. The Game 4 tipoff is Tuesday night at Yad Eliyahu, a venue where Maccabi have already won this series.
“The tank is full, and we want to keep playing basketball,” Itoudis said. Hapoel will face a Maccabi side that has already lifted the Israel State Cup trophy this season, the club’s 47th, and a regular season that ended 24-2. Katash’s team will be looking to close out Tuesday at the same venue where they won Game 1 by 21 points, with a championship on the line.
It was a good win, but we are still down a game in this series.
Dimitrios Itoudis, Hapoel Tel Aviv head coach, speaking after Game 3 in a Jerusalem Post report by Joshua Halickman.
