Maccabi Tel Aviv worked very hard last night (Thursday) against Zalgiris Kovna, but in the end managed to overcome Andrea Trincieri’s stubborn team with 76:83. The yellows went up to a balance of 13:15 and kept eye contact with the places that lead in the playoffs. “I’m very happy that we showed character and found a way to get this win,” he said Oded Ketch. “It’s a very important win at this time in the season, especially if we want to enter the playoffs.”
Maccabi breathed a sigh of relief after the victory, as a “home” loss to an opponent from the bottom of the table would have almost certainly eliminated the chance for 6th place. After in the previous round, Maccabi Tel Aviv had no trouble against Elba Berlin, now it has completed 2 out of 2 in the more convenient schedule, with next week an away game against another team that finished the season, Red Star Belgrade. “Despite all the difficulties and even though we don’t have But at home, we don’t have the privilege of losing games like this, certainly at this stage of the season,” said Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Wade Baldwin (16 points) and Lorenzo Brown (9 points and 10 assists) were good, but this victory was achieved mainly due to the good work of the supporting staff: the quintet of Tamir Blatt, John DiBartholomew, Antonios Cleveland, James Webb and Hasiel Rivero Turned the game around in the last quarter, and showed once again that this season – it has more than Brown and Baldwin.
“The players who came off the bench helped us make the transformation and the change, it helped me and the team a lot,” Ketch added. “We had to change a lot of lineups, we played without Roman Sorkin, so sometimes there were two dominant talls and I felt that there was a very tactical game between the coaches. We made our comeback through our second five, it’s not something that happens a lot, a lot of credit to the players.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Achilles heel in the last season and a half has been defensive rebounding. Yesterday, they did an exceptional job in this aspect, when they were faced with one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the Euroleague, picking up a total of 4 rebounds in a whole game under the yellow basket. “It kept us in the game” , Ketch admitted. “We didn’t play our best basketball, but we were able to control the rebound and that was the key. I am very happy about this victory and that many players contributed.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv, therefore, will try to continue the momentum next week against the team they traditionally struggle with, the Red Star – having not won an away match in Belgrade since 2010. Even before that, they have a big game waiting for them, against Hapoel Jerusalem at the Hall, hoping to complete a double victory On the sworn rival and return to first place in the league.
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