Maccabi Tel Aviv saw off Hapoel Galil Elyon 120 to 93 in the Super League on Friday evening, a result that kept the hosts top of the table with two defeats from 26 games. The match settled into rhythm quickly, with Maccabi's shooting proving decisive from the opening exchanges. By then, the gap was already stretching beyond what either side expected.
The home side made 19 three-pointers from 36 attempts, a percentage that told you everything about their confidence. They also collected 45 field goals from 73 attempts, while Hapoel managed 37 from 71. To be fair, the visitors did not lack for effort, but they were left flat-footed against a Maccabi side that had opened talks about their own form earlier in the season.
We had called for a home victory with 72 per cent confidence, and the match followed that trajectory. It was not a surprise, really — Maccabi had won four of their last five, including victories over Olimpia Milano and Hapoel Jerusalem, and they simply got over the line against a side that needed the points badly.
Hapoel Galil Elyon sat 12th with seven wins and 19 losses, a record that does not soften the blow of a 27-point defeat. They did not collapse — they kept their heads, collected 14 steals and 12 offensive rebounds — but they ran out of legs as the fourth quarter wore on. The stadium fell silent at one point, not from tension but from the realisation that the game was already decided.
The statistics tell the story without embellishment. Maccabi dominated the boards with 32 rebounds to 26, and their 28 assists to 19 showed a team that had found its rhythm. They committed 12 turnovers against Hapoel's 14, but the difference came at the other end: 19 successful three-pointers compared with eight. The free-throw line was even — 11 each — but it did not matter.
The result leaves Maccabi on 26 games played, 24 wins, and two defeats, still clear at the summit. Hapoel remain in 12th, their gap to safety unchanged, and cup football has its own rules that do not apply here. This was a Super League fixture, and the table speaks for itself.
