By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After securing the seventh seed in the Playoffs bracket of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague through the Play-Ins, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv switched to a best-of-five series versus Panathinaikos Aktor. Game 1 in OAKA Altion will be played on Tuesday.
“We know that there will be a great atmosphere,” previewed head coach Oded Kattash, a former EuroLeague champion with the Greens, “We are familiar with OAKA.”
Launching a bid to qualify for the Final Four of Europe’s premier club continental competition, Lorenzo Brown is projected to return to action after welcoming a baby boy earlier this week. All Maccabi players are expected to be available at the top of the series.
“There is a lot of excitement for the playoffs. We are happy to be at this stage,” said Kattash.
“There isn’t much that we have to change because of the way Panathinaikos plays. Fairly simple with a lot of individual talent,” he added, “It’s more important to be aware of what each of their players can do. And we need to take a step up from last season in terms of aggressiveness.”
Panathinaikos finished the Regular Season with a 14-3 record at home.
“It will not be easy there, but for this, we play basketball,” explained the play-caller of the reigning champions in Israel, “We have to come with our best basketball on both sides of the court and try to play our game, of course with the relevant adjustments for this series.”
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net