Maccabi complete dream season with 12th Israeli national league title
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Maccabi TEL AVIV have claimed their 12th Israeli men’s national league title in history after sweeping aside Hapoel MATE-ASHER AKKO in the championship series by three wins to none, including a comprehensive 3-0 victory in their last matchup. This way, Maccabi completed a ‘double’ after taking the national cup crown as well earlier this season and ended Hapoel’s supremacy in the national league – which had lasted for three years.
Gal Galili“It is a sweet end to a difficult and long season and actually, it feels like we have been playing for two seasons. Today we probably did not play as good as we did during the first two matches, but we did what was necessary to win. I was lucky to work with the team and I think we have proven this year that there is no substitute for teamwork. "
Head coach of Maccabi TEL AVIV
A few hundreds of fans displaying the yellow corporate colours of Maccabi provided an extra boost of motivation to the players from Tel Aviv, who were leading 2-0 in the championship series. Maccabi were just dominant throughout the finals, especially through their star players Kyle Ensing and Henry Bell from USA and Cuba, respectively. Middle blocker Genadi Sokolov was the star performer in this role throughout the season. In the last match of the series, Maccabi edged their rivals in all components, including aces (7 to 2) and blocks (6 to 4), with Ensing and Sokolov top scoring on 16 and 13 points.
"As the season progressed, we developed our chemistry, and we had some great games that will stand as milestones for us. The team reached its peak at the right time, and I am happy for the players and for the team - and for the fans who accompanied us in this final series - of course, this was great fun,” Galili added.
Alexander Osokin, player of Hapoel: “Although it was a short series, I hope it was fun to watch for the fans, especially since a lot of spectators came, and I am happy to see the crowd back. Our game was less good than Maccabi’s and they deserved to win. I hope next year we can help put Hapoel back where it deserves to be and got used to in recent years.”