A subpar defensive effort led to defeat at the hands of archrival Maccabi
Hapoel learns painful EuroLeague lesson in derby loss
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Regular Season
Round 3 of 38
Regular Season
Hapoel IBI Tel AvivHTA
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA
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For Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv, the first-ever EuroLeague clash between Israeli clubs became a night of hard truths and harsh lessons. A 90–103 loss to Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv in Sofia left head coach Dimitris Itoudis unsparing in his assessment, not of effort, but of readiness.
“This was not arrogance,” Itoudis clarified after the game, addressing suggestions that his team might have underestimated Maccabi. “We were bad defensively. I saw this coming because it’s just the start of the season. We are not the team that we want to be, and that’s normal. I was saying this even while we were winning.”
Defensive struggles and momentum swings
While Hapoel produced 90 points – enough to win on most nights – the problem, as Itoudis pointed out, was everything that happened on the other end. “We were not there on a communications level, physicality, strategically as well,” he said.
“I think there are many momentums in a game. At 65-60 for us, they went on a 9-0 run with 2 fouls to give. And the three-pointers – they were mostly in our face. Not contested, most of them. Fourteen three-pointers is a huge number. (Maccabi) deserved to win. We cannot give up 103 points.”
Hapoel’s defensive rotations frequently broke down during Maccabi’s runs, especially in the second half, as Lonnie Walker and Oshae Brissett punished mismatches and weak closeouts. Despite brisk offensive production from Hapoel’s core, the defensive gaps proved decisive.
The building process continues
Itoudis made clear that despite the disappointment of losing a derby, perspective was crucial. “We need time. We need such games. Unfortunately, it happened in the derby. It’s a good lesson for us. We need to bounce back and we will bounce back,” he said, emphasizing the long-term process of shaping Hapoel into a true EuroLeague contender.
The veteran coach, who guided CSKA Moscow to EuroLeague glory in the past, framed the loss as part of the club’s evolution. “At the level of the EuroLeague, mistakes are going to be punished, and we made a lot of mistakes,” he noted. “There are positive things. Believe me, we are going to watch the whole film with the team in the following days and we are going to draw exactly the messages that this game gave us for this certain period of the season where we are still trying to build something.”
Looking ahead
For Hapoel, the defeat was a reminder of the margin for error in the EuroLeague – and of the importance of cohesion in both communication and structure. The team showed flashes of its offensive potential but will now turn its focus to refining its defensive identity before visiting Valencia Basket and then facing Paris Basketball next week.
If anything, this night in Sofia may serve the purpose Itoudis values most: not as a step back, but as one forward in the process of building the team he envisions.