Maccabi Tel Aviv finally won its first EuroLeague game and is now 1-3 on the season, while Hapoel Tel Aviv fell short and dropped to 2-2.
Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Armani Milano 97-79 in a convincing win at its home-away-from-home in Belgrade, Serbia, because of the security situation in Israel. Jaylen Hoard and Yam Madar had the hot hands early on while Moses Wright countered for the visitors. But points from Iffe Lundberg, Daniel Theis, and Bonzie Colson kept Oded Katash’s team ahead for good to seal the win.
The yellow-and-blue opened the Israeli league season on Saturday night with a 120-93 win over Hapoel Galil Elyon, followed by a Euroleague Spanish double week with games in Barcelona and Valencia.
Madar scored 17 points, Hoard and Colson added 13 points each, while Roman Sorkin put in 12 points in the win. Wright scored 23 points and Peters 12 points in the loss.
Katash looked back at the victory.
Maccabi coach Katash praises team's confidence after first EuroLeague win
“This was an important win for us after our start to the Euroleague season. We started building our confidence back, and I liked the body language and how aggressive we were. In the second half, we looked even more comfortable. We got a lot of good minutes from a lot of the players, and we kept things simple to find a way to win.”
Madar, the game’s MVP, spoke about the win.
“It was a big win for us after the way we started the Euroleague season. We are really happy for this one, and this is a step in the right direction. We didn’t think we would start the season the way we did, but we want to play the right way and play for the fans. The win was the most important thing after opening the season 0-3.
“We didn’t start the season off the way we wanted to, and we watched a lot of film this week to try and correct mistakes. We want to play better and improve throughout the season; we took a step forward against Jerusalem last week, and there were things we learned from that game that we took into this game.”
In Spain, Valencia topped Hapoel Tel Aviv 93-82 as a valiant effort by Antonio Blakeney with 30 points wasn’t enough for the Reds to overcome a rough first quarter as the hosts took the win at the Roig Arena.
Dimitrios Itoudis’s record drops down to 2-2 on the season, and there will no doubt be demands levied out to the squad that heads into the Euroleague double week, when it faces Besiktas and Panathinaikos in Sofia and Athens, respectively.
TJ Shorts, Kameron Taylor and Dylan Osetkowski all scored for Valencia to get the game underway, while Zach Leday tried to keep Hapoel Tel Aviv close, but Valencia led 29-17 after 10 minutes. Shorts and Taylor kept filling the basket, but Blakeney started to heat up, cutting the Valencia lead to 47-40 by halftime.
Nathan Reuvers, Josep Puerto and Jasiel Rivero all scored for Xavier Albert’s team as they finished the quarter ahead 74-55 after 30 minutes of action. Blakeney continued his sharp shooting, and Elijah Brant began to score, but Taylor and Armoni Brooks countered as Osetkowski hit another triple to close out the win.
Blakeney scored 30 points, and Bryant put in 12 in the loss, while Taylor scored 27, Shorts 15, and Puerto 11 in the win, with five players in double digits.
Hapoel coach Itoudis faults poor defensive effort in Valencia defeat
Hapoel coach Itoudis spoke about the performance.
“I want to congratulate Valencia on the win. They opened the game very aggressively, moved the ball quickly, and knocked down open three-pointers. Our defensive effort was very poor and lacked balance. We tried to make adjustments that would help us defensively as a team while also moving the ball quickly on offense, and that worked at certain points.”
Blakeney, Hapoel’s leading scorer, said: “We played against a great team that doesn’t make many mistakes. We fought hard, and there were stretches when we fought our way back into the game and cut into the deficit. Overall, it was a good game.”
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