The Israel basketball league administration decided to end the 2024/25 season without a champion. Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem were tied 1-1 in the best-of-three finals when Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran, initiating the current war.
Game 3 of the series was scheduled to be played this past Sunday night at Yad Eliyahu to crown this season’s champion.
However, after extensive discussions with all authorized bodies, including the Home Front Command and the teams, and considering the ongoing hostilities with Iran, as well as the inability to hold the decisive final game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem, the league’s Executive Committee decided unanimously that the 2024/25 season will conclude without declaring a champion.
Initially, there were several options considered – including waiting a bit to see if things calmed down, ending the season, and declaring both teams champions (which has never happened before), playing the game without fans, finding another venue, or rescheduling the matchup.
However, in the end, the committee realized that the decision that needed to be made was that there would be no conclusion to this season and that no champion would be named.
The Reds issued a statement on the decision.
“The Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club thanks the players, the professional staff, and all of our partners who stood by us, and most of all, the amazing fans who accompanied us everywhere throughout the season. You are the true champions! We wish all of our brothers and sisters will return home, that there will be days of peace, security and quiet and that we will soon return to the court together, stronger, united and more determined than ever. Love will prevail.”
The yellow-and-blue also commented on the decision after chairman Shimon Mizrachi initially said that he felt that the decision seemed unreasonable and wrong to the club, and that two teams should have been awarded the league title for the past season.
“The Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club was very surprised Monday night by the decision of the Israel basketball league’s Executive Committee, which determined that no champion would be declared for the 2024/25 season, despite the club’s proposal to crown both Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv as joint champions.
“This proposal, coming from the team that finished the regular season in first place, expressed a sincere call for unity with a firm grip on the basic values on which Israeli society was built.
“In times of distress, courageous decisions are required. Precisely due to the circumstances, it was appropriate and necessary to maintain basic sporting principles and values. Unfortunately, the decision not to make a decision serves neither the values of sport nor the interests of Israeli sport, which invests considerable efforts in its legitimacy outside the borders of Israel.
“The Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club will carefully consider its next steps.
“This is the time and place to thank the dedicated fans who have accompanied the team with endless loyalty, and to the players, staff, and the entire Maccabi team who went through an unprecedented challenging season. The club won two of the three titles in Israeli basketball and reached the championship game. Every one of them deserves more than a season that was wiped out by one erroneous decision.
“There should be a place of honor for the second-best team in Israeli basketball, Hapoel Jerusalem, who, together with us, took part in a terrific championship series in what was an uncompromising sporting struggle while always maintaining fair sports principles.
“We will return renewed and refreshed for next season, to win back what was taken from us this season.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv won the preseason Winner Cup tournament
Oded Katash’s Maccabi Tel Aviv won the preseason Winner Cup tournament after defeating Maccabi Ramat Gan and also claimed the Israel State Cup against Hapoel Jerusalem in the capital city, bringing home two trophies.
The yellow-and-blue finished first overall in the regular season and advanced to the finals by defeating Ness Ziona 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Hapoel Holon 2-0 in the semifinals.
In what was a challenging continental campaign, Maccabi finished the Euroleague season in 16th place with a record of 11-23 and played all of its games on the road, with “home” contests taking place in Belgrade, Serbia, for the second year in a row due to the still ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
Hapoel Jerusalem ended the regular season in third place overall and knocked off Maccabi Ramat Gan 3-0 in the quarterfinals and then got by Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-1 to get to the championship series.
In EuroCup play, the Reds finished in second place in their group but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Gran Canaria in a game that was played in Belgrade after having played its “home” games for the regular season in Samokov, Bulgaria.