Maccabi Haifa steals title from Maccabi Tel Aviv

After losing to Maccabi Tel Aviv time and again throughout the season, Maccabi Haifa defeated the yellow-and-blue when it mattered most on Thursday night, claiming an historic BSL championship with an 86-79 victory at Romema Arena.

Haifa had lost all five of its previous meetings with Tel Aviv, including in the State Cup final. However, it beat the yellow-and-blue on the biggest night of the season to win its first ever league title and deny Maccabi its 51st.

Pat Calathes had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Haifa, with Gal Mekel scoring 21 while Paul Stoll added 14 points.

Ricky Hickman had 28 points for Tel Aviv, which dropped the league title for the third time in six years.