By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, playing for pride, almost beat Anadolu Efes in a game played in the neutral home of Riga, Latvia.
Still, the end result was 90-88 for Efes, decided on the closing seconds, and the Turkish side improved to an 18-14 record and a tie with Barcelona.
Elijah Bryant, with 25 points, was the top scorer of the winners, Dan Oturu added 15 crucial points, while Shane Larkin had 11.
“We came out after playing a game 48 hours ago, but at the end of the day, we got the win, and that’s all that matters”, said Bryant after the final buzzer.
Roman Sorkin, with 22 points, was Maccabi‘s top scorer. Rokas Jokubaitis added 19 points, however, he couldn’t be the hero of his team in the closing seconds.
Maccabi dropped to a 10-22 record.
A thriller until the end
Efes opened the game by building an early nine-point advantage (26-17), however, Maccabi trimmed the lead to four points (26-22) at the end of the first period, and that was also the halftime distance (50-46) with Roman Sorkin already scoring 15 points for the guests.
Things changed in the start of the second half, after a 17-3 run by Maccabi, which made the score 63-53 as Jokubaitis scored seven of those points.
Efes‘ immediate answer was a 13-2 run (66-65), taking the lead back at the buzzer of the third quarter thanks to a three by Bryant.
Bryant scored one more three to start the last period (69-65), but Maccabi didn’t bend, taking the lead back (76-74) with seven minutes left.
That didn’t last long, as Efes reacted with five straight points (79-76); still, Maccabi didn’t give up and made it a one-point game (84-83) with three minutes left.
The Israelis finally tied the score at 88 with 26 seconds left, thanks to two free throws by Rokas Jokubaitis. Ronalds Smits was also fouled 10 seconds before the final buzzer. He was hurt in the head, appeared dizzy, and was replaced by Rodrique Beaubois.
The Frenchman made one free throw (89-88), and Maccabi had one last chance, but Jokubaitis lost the ball, and the game was over, with Larkin going to the free throw line and making one.
Photo credit: EuroLeague