By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Maccabi Tel Aviv held back a Fenerbahce Beko comeback attempt from 23 points down to win 67 – 55 at home to register its third straight EuroLeague win and improve its regular-season record to 3-2. It was a loss that sank the Turkish side to 1-4 and near the bottom of the standings.
Omri Casspi was named player of the game after finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists. “I’m happy that we had composure and we made plays down the stretch to get the win,” the Israeli forward said in the post-game flash interview for EuroLeague TV.
“Teams like Fener are really good. There are some really good teams in EuroLeague. So we got to learn how to finish games,” Maccabi center Tarik Black added after posting a game-high 21 PIR thanks to 10 points and 15 rebounds. The former NBAer made a key 3-point play down the stretch with the score 59 – 54 and 2:22 remaining to repel Fener’s comeback from a 46 – 23 deficit.
Nando De Colo (13 points) had previously score Fener’s last bucket in the match, a 3-pointer that cut the margin to five. His team, however, failed to complete the turnaround. Zeljko Obradovic’s players finished the match with just 9/34 2-pointers.
Derrick Williams added 11 points and six boards and Bobby Dixon 11 points for Fener.
It was a matter of will for Giannis Sfairopoulos
Maccabi coach Giannis Sfairopoulos praised his player’s efforts that resulted in Fenerbahce scoring a season-low 55 points and the “Yellows” getting the victory.
“The determination of our players was the difference, we had an excellent game. We kept Fenerbahce to 55 points. I think we deserved to win the game. This determination gave us the offensive rebounds. We got the ball back and I think we controlled the game,” Sfairopoulos said after the game.
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball