By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv relocated to Belgrade due to an ongoing situation in Israel, and started with a win in their temporary home.
Oded Kattash’s side defeated Bayern Munich 93-90, in front of, due to security reasons, empty stands of Aleksandar Nikolic hall.
Bonzie Colson led the scoring sheet for the winning side with 19 points, but Lorenzo Brown was key in the dying moments of the game, scoring crucial six points to hand his team a win. He ended the match with 13 points and seven assists.
“We miss Tel Aviv, we miss playing in front of our fans,” Colson admitted after the game. “We’ve got the best fans in EuroLeague, so we definitely miss them, but it’s good to be here and play the game that we all love.”
Wade Baldwin and Jasiel Rivero followed the mentioned duo with 12 points each, while Tamir Blatt also scored in double figures with 11 points.
For Bayern, who fell to 2-5, Carsen Edwards had 17 points, Serge Ibaka added 16, while Leandro Bolmaro, who pushed the team in the final quarter to within just a point, finished with 12 points and five assists. Devin Booker also scored in double digits, ending the match with 11 points to his name
It was a tight battle from the opening moments, with Bayern mainly in the lead during the first 10 minutes, but with a maximum of four points in front. Midway through the second period, Maccabi took over, and with a 15-2 run, gained control. However, Bayern responded and came within two points before the halftime break (46-44).
Maccabi opened the third quarter better, and with a couple of smaller runs gained a 57-49 lead and managed to keep a comfortable distance, entering the final 10 minutes with a 71-63 surplus. However, Bayern refused to go down without a fight. Bolmaro trimmed the deficit to 83-82 with three minutes to go, but then Brown took matters into his own hands and pushed the German side away with six straight points. With Baldwin’s free throws, Maccabi took a 91-84 lead, which proved to be enough for the win.
Kattash: “It’s not easy”; Laso: “Kudos to Maccabi”
Maccabi’s coach Oded Kattash gave his impressions at the press conference after the game, talking about playing away from home in Belgrade.
“What’s important is the victory. It’s not easy to play without fans. We need to find the energy somewhere. In the second half, we played with more intensity, we had runs, but we played against a good team. I’m glad we managed to win even if it wasn’t our usual performance. In EuroLeague, the most important game is always the next one. I’m happy for the fans, for the club. In the recent period, we’ve been looking for a way to achieve victories and stay competitive. It’s not easy. We like being in Belgrade. It’s never been our home, but maybe it will improve us,” Kattash said after his team improved to 4-2, despite all the struggles that were out of their hand.
Pablo Laso wasn’t discouraged by his team’s performance and pointed out the key things that turned the game in Maccabi’s favor.
“Congratulations to Maccabi on the victory. I think we had a fairly solid game in many situations, both offensively and defensively. But when you lose the ball 23 times, it becomes difficult. What else can I say about the game? I think we played very well, did good things on defense. Maybe we should have gotten a few more rebounds. Kudos to Maccabi: We knew we had to match their physicality, and we didn’t succeed. We lost the ball in crucial moments, and we need to learn from that for the future. It’s hard to say that I’m happy with our game when we don’t get a win, but I believe we did many good things that allowed us to stay in the game despite the turnovers“, Laso said.
Photo: EuroLeague