By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv made a fortress of Menora Mivtachim this season, improved drastically from the previous one, and is now in a position to book a place in the Turkish Airlines Final Four in Kaunas.
The last obstacle on the way to Lithuania is Monaco, the fourth-seeded team from the regular season, which proved its strength in Games 2 and 3 against the Tel Aviv team, giving Maccabi only third loss of the EuroLeague season at home (16 victories).
“It’s a big game for us“, said Oded Kattash just before taking off to the French Riviera, “We’ve been through an amazing journey with the new team we built. We are proud to be where we are and have this opportunity to do something special. It will not be easy, just like the previous games. Our goal is to control the tempo of the game“.
Maccabi’s team captain, John DiBartolomeo seems to know the recipe for Sasa Obradovic’s team.
“The teams know each other very well. We know what works best for us and that’s controlling their guards, controlling the defensive rebounds, and getting out on transition – that’s been a strength of us all season. It will be a challenge, but it’s a great opportunity for us. We worked hard to earn it and I know we’ll be ready,” DiBartolomeo added.
Previously, Jordan Loyd said that the team who wants it more will prevail in a do-or-die battle of the quarterfinal series.