By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
30 September ? Opening a brand new season with optimism, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv shows eagerness to return to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs for the first time since 2015. At the head coaching position was Giannis Sfairopoulos for the fourth year in a row backed by a strengthened squad. Opening night was successful with a narrow win, 69-68, over FC Bayern Munich.
17 November ? Surging after a home loss to Crvena Zvezda mts and an away loss to AX Armani Exchange Milan, Maccabi had secured seven wins over the first 10 games and ranked among the top four teams in the standings.
29 December ? Unable to catch a break over the next eight games made the top four spots a distant dream. After dropping all the way down to the 12th place, not falling further behind in the playoff hunt became the new goal.
10 February ? A huge win over CSKA Moscow, 84-75, was the fourth in five games and shaped the early signs of a comeback. However, sitting 12th behind an 11-12 record was short of initial expectations.
15 February ? After being eliminated from the Israeli State Cup by Hapoel SP Tel Aviv via an 80-70 loss at Menora Mivtachim Arena, the team parts ways with Coach Giannis Sfairopoulos. Avi Even takes over the head coaching responsibilities.
18 February ? Upset Maccabi fans interrupt practice. Following a string of bad results in EuroLeague and domestic competitions, the fans demand an end to the run of poor form.
28 February ? Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Euroleague Basketball decides to continue the season without the Russian teams and on March 22 to finish the season without Russian teams. The games played against the Russian sides not taken into account propel Maccabi from 12th to 7th with a 10-10 record.
10 March ? An 84-77 defeat in the Serbian capital to Crvena Zvezda mts in Belgrade would mark Maccabi’s last loss in EuroLeague.
7 April ? Riding a five-game winning streak and tied with AS Monaco for the longest active winning run, Maccabi makes it all the way up to fifth place with a 16-11 record. An 80-104 rot of FC Barcelona marked the largest winning margin of the season and at the same time the largest losing margin for top-ranked Barca.
Not only was the win inf Barcelona the most recent, but pouring in 104 points at Palau Blaugrana was the highlight of the comeback. Under the guidance of Even, Maccabi’s offense has averaged 87.7 points per game over seven outings. Overall, it sits sixth in points scored (80.3 ppg.) and 10th in points allowed (78.7).
Scottie Wilbekin has been worth 15.3 points per game and is fourth among all scorers. James Nunnally is ranked 11th with 13.9 points per game. Ante Zizic has 12.6 points per game to sit 23rd and 5.1 rebounds per game to sit 19th while averaging a PIR of 16.4 per contest, which is good enough to squeeze in the Top 10.
13 April ? At the end of the home game versus Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Maccabi will know whether it will finish as the fifth or the sixth seed. It will face either Real Madrid or AX Armani Exchange Milan in the Playoffs. Playoffs? Who saw it coming?