Maccabi Tel Aviv Loses to Ljubljana 83 - 81

By Amy Samin

Maccabi’s starting five in the game against Ljubljana were Williams, White, Arroyo, Burstein and Batista. The host team opened with Ilievski, Rudez, Milic, Begic, and Ozbolt.

The Slovenians started off the game by coming to a quick 5 – 0 lead over Maccabi, and it looked like the scenarios from previous games were carrying over into this one. The Israeli team didn’t give up, though, and in spite of two three point shots by Ilievski, the score was tied 8 – 8 three and a half minutes into the game. Slack play on defense by Maccabi allowed Ljubljana to retake the lead, and then build on it. After a three pointer by Ozbolt, the host team’s lead reached double digits, 19 – 8 with four minutes left in the quarter. As we’ve seen in earlier games, the opposing team was able to penetrate Maccabi’s defense time after time, on their way to easy baskets. In addition, Maccabi’s offense didn’t put on much of a show. The lead got up to 14 points before White and Burstein scored near the end of the quarter to bring the score to 27 – 15, in favor of Ljubljana.

Ljubljana’s lead continued to grow in the second quarter thanks to the Slovenian’s skilled ball handling and Maccabi’s poor defense. Only points scored by Arroyo and Eliyahu kept the lead from running away beyond the point of recovery, and the score was 34 – 23 in favor of Ljubljana four minutes into the second quarter. Just as Maccabi was closing the gap and starting to look better, suddenly the turnovers and missed rebounds returned and the Slovenians put on a burst of scoring that brought the score to 43 – 25, with three minutes left in the half. In the time remaining in the quarter, Ljubljana continued to dominate as Maccabi missed shot after shot. At the half, the score stood at 48 – 29.

The second half opened with each team following its course from the first half of the game. Ljubljana scored at will, and kept their lead over Maccabi hovering at the 20 point mark, 59 – 37 after five minutes of play in the third quarter. The Slovenians kept up that lead for most of the quarter, but the last minutes of the quarter were good ones for Casspi and Eliyahu; in addition, some dazzling shots by Arroyo helped to close that lead. Maccabi’s streak concluded with a three pointer by Casspi in the closing seconds of the quarter, which brought the score to 68 – 55, and gave Maccabi the best quarter of play they’d had in awhile.

Lior Eliyahu played well on offense and defense, and led the other Maccabi players in closing Ljubljana’s lead at the start of the fourth quarter. A basket by the forward brought the score to 70 – 61, and gave the team renewed hope, but a technical foul called on Maccabi head coach Efy Birenboim threatened to break the momentum. The Israelis, with Hagag, Eliyahu and Casspi in the driver’s seat, also showed great improvement on defense. A long pass from Hagag to Casspi resulted in another basket, 78 – 72 with three minutes left in the game. Maccabi continued to draw closer, and put a full-court press on the Slovenians to try and steal the ball. A fantastic three point shot by Casspi brought the score to 82 – 79 with half a minute left in the game. The Slovenians missed their shot, and Maccabi had ten seconds to try and tie the game with a three pointer. A quick foul on Arroyo brought him to the free throw line. The point guard made his first free throw, then tried to miss the second, but ended up making that one as well. The Slovenians closed the game by scoring another point from the line, and the game ended with another Maccabi loss: 83 – 81.

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