Maccabi Tel Aviv secures first place in Israeli basketball regular season

JERUSALEM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday night achieved an 88-82 home win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.

The win raised Maccabi to a 23-4 win-loss record, securing first place in the regular league and home advantage throughout the 8-team playoffs. Hapoel, now with a 21-7 record, will enter the playoffs from second place.

In front of 10,000 fans at