By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
A couple of days after the announcement of the three-year contract extension with head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos, Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Zenit St. Petersburg 82-71 on the road for Round 14 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The Israeli side exceeded its streak to four games and improved to a 10-4 record in the standings.
Maccabi finds maximum production in the wake of absences
Despite missing Nate Wolters, Omri Casspi, John DiBartolomeo and Tarik Black, coach Sfairopoulos saw Elijah Bryant stepping up with 12 points, three steals, while Yovel Zoosman (9 points, five assists) and Deni Avdija (7 points, 7 rebounds, three assists) also contributed a lot to the team’s rotation.
Tyler Dorsey took off in the second half and led Maccabi in scoring with 17 points.
“I want to congratulate our players, ιt’s not easy to play with 10 players so many games in the last few days and this is the reason why in the end we gave up some easy points. Now we continue”, mentioned coach Sfairopoulos after the game.
On the other hand, Zenit couldn’t use its advantage in the paint with Black sidelined, as Othello Hunter had his way and finished the game with 15 points and five boards.
Will Thomas led the Russian side with 15 points and was one of the main keys behind their reaction in the fourth quarter as they managed to trim the deficit to 67-55.
What’s next
Zenit faces Fenerbahce on Thursday (Round 15, 12/19) with hopes to bounce back from its 3-11 record, while Maccabi hosts Panathinaikos and looks to exceed their streak to five.
Photo: EuroLeague