By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Two athletic forces led by brilliant scorers and always playing at the highest possible rhythm – Monaco vs Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv seems like a promising Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoff series.
Last year Monaco went to the playoffs as debutants and was on the verge of the Final four after a spectacular five-game series with Olympiacos.
Over the summer, the French team showed lots of ambition by acquiring some of European basketball’s greatest talents and, led by coach Sasa Obradovic made it to the quarterfinals again – this time with a home-court advantage.
The next step would be going to Kaunas.
“Making it to the Final four would be huge for our team and club. We are not shy about saying that we are very confident in our group, and we know what it takes to get there“, one of the last summer’s additions, Jaron Blossomgame, said.
Monaco finished fourth with a 21-13 record, and John Brown aims high.
“I need a championship, baby. Our staff did a great job bringing the collective group of guys with good Charisma and characters, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Brown said.
Maccabi Tel Aviv is looking to return to the Final Four nine years after lifting the trophy. Oded Katash’s team had a great final stretch of the regular season and finished it with a bet home record in the EuroLeague, with just two losses (15-2).
“My path led me to this point. The front office had full confidence in me, and not it’s my time to replicate what I’ve been doing for my career so far, bringing it up a notch, trying to get over the hump into the next level,” Wade Baldwin, who recently inked a new contract with a club said.
Baldwin was the second scorer of the EuroLeague, with Lorenzo Brown being fifth. These two players were crucial for Maccabi’s success this season.
“To bring a championship back to Maccabi would be an amazing feeling. I feel like the fans and city deserve it, and this club as well,” Brown added.