Maccabi Tel Aviv faces Barcelona on the road
Maccabi Tel Aviv visits Barcelona Thursday on Gameday 5 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague as they’ll look to win their second game of the campaign on the road. However, winning in Barcelona is never a simple matter as they haven’t done so since December of 2005.
Last week Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Olympiacos 88-80 as David Blatt defeated his former team thanks to a turn back the clock performance by Vassilis Spanoulis with 16 points. DeAndre Kane led all scorers with 22 points as Michael Roll, Johnny O’Bryant and John Dibartolomeo all scored 12 points a piece in the loss.
Star guard Scottie Wilbekin hasn’t played in over a week due to an injured hand but is slated to suit up for Neven Spahija’s squad. Svetislav Pesic’s Barcelona sits at 2-2 with two wins in a row and has some new faces on the roster including Kevin Pangos and big man Chris Singleton to compliment returning veterans Thomas Heurtel and Kevin Seraphin.
Hapoel Gilboa/Galil always causes problems for Hapoel Jerusalem and they did so once again in Gan Ner defeating the capital city side 10199 thanks to a tremendous Joaquin Szuchman block on James Feldeine as time expired. Jerusalem led 86-74 heading into the final frame but the host’s found the wherewithal to make an astounding comeback thanks to Ian Miller’s hot hand.
With the score sitting at 95-83 in favor of Jerusalem, Ariel Beit Halachmi’s Gilboa/Galil rattled off a 10-0 run the cut the lead to just two points thanks to Greg Whittington bucket. James Kelly and Miller answered Tamir Blatt’s basket as the score stood at 97-97 with a minute and a half to go in regulation. DeSean Butler drained a pair of free throws but a crazy 3-pointer by Miller gave the host’s a 1-point 100-99 lead while Whittington added another point from the charity stripe with 8 seconds left in the game. Jerusalem coach Oded Katash called a timeout to set up Feldeine but Szuchman made sure the star guard wouldn’t sully the Galilee celebrations as he went up high to make the decisive block.
Ian Miller scored 31 points drilling six 3-pointers in only 23 minutes of action, James Kelley added 22 points while Greg Whittington and Bryant Crawford each dropped 18 points in the win. James Feldeine scored 19 points, Chris Johnson chipped in with 18 points as Tamir Blatt added 17 points in the loss.
Maccabi Tel Aviv painted the city yellow-and-blue after blowing out their city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv 89-57 in the Derby. In a game that was never in doubt, Maccabi played uptempo high intensity basketball and took a commanding 28-14 lead after the first quarter setting the tone for the next thirty minutes. A 13-0 run by the host’s grew the lead to 46-29 after twenty minutes as Hapoel struggled to get their offense into first gear as Maccabi ran away with a 32-point, 89-57 win. Captain John Dibartolomeo led seven players in double digits with 16 points followed by Michael Roll and Nimrod Levi’s 13 points a piece. Tomer Ginat dropped 13 points for Hapoel in the defeat.
Ironi Nahariya defeated Nes Ziona in Ein Sara 85-76 to record their second win of the season and their first since opening day when they bested Holon. After three and half quarters of close basketball, Mickey Gorka’s northern side locked down on defense and took advantage of Justin Edwards’s 13 of 18 points over the last 15 minutes to pick up the victory, Myke Henry added 14 points and Terry Allen chipped in with 12 points as six Nahariya players finished the contest in double figures. Gary Browne Ramirez with 21 points and Chris Dowe with 19 points topped the score sheet for Nes Ziona.
Hapoel Holon were victorious over Hapoel Beer Sheva in a tight 72-70 win. Chanan Colman led the way for Beer Sheva in the first quarter with 9 points as the side’s ended the frame deadlocked at 22-22. Semaj Christon got into the act in the second quarter and finished the half with 13 points helping the host’s to a 47-37 lead down south. But Holon clawed back during the second half and took a 72-70 lead with 12 seconds left in the game. Christon had a chance to win it, but missed his shot as the purple-and-yellow picked up the road win.
Semaj Christon led all scorers with 24 points while Jakim Donaldson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds for Beer Sheva. Corey Walden dropped 20 points and added 10 boards while TJ Cline scored 17 points in the victory.
Hapoel Eilat recorded their first win of the season in a dramatic comeback over Bnei Herzliya 81-75 in the Red Sea city. The visitor’s were up 46-30 after twenty minutes thanks to fine play by Karam Mashour and Jeff Adrien who finished the game with 20 points a piece. But a frantic second half led by BYU product Elijah Bryant with 31 points, saw Eilat outscore Herzliya by a whopping 51-29 to take the victory. JP Tokoto ended the evening with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds while Lenzelle Smith added 15 points in the win.
Maccabi Rishon Lezion defeated Maccabi Ashdod 90-80 in the final contest of Gameday 4. Visiting Rishon took a ten point 30-20 lead after the first quarter and never looked back thanks to having all five starters finishing in double-digits. Egor Koulechov scored 20 points, Marquis Wright flirted with a triple-double with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals while Deshawn Stephens dropped 15 points in the victory. Paul Stoll paced the host’s with 18 points and 8 assists in the loss