Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv improved to 2-0 in the Israeli Super League on Sunday, beating Hapoel Gilboa/Galil 89-83 in a "home" game in Be'er Sheva. Oded Kattash's men overcame a long list of absentees, with Tamir Blatt unable to finish the game due to hamstring pains.
The reigning champions were without injured Wenyen Gabriel and Rokas Jokubaitis, while Saben Lee remained in Belgrade and Alpha Kaba was left out of the squad. Still, led by Blatt, Maccabi made a run in the third quarter to push a small lead into a 12-point cushion.
But then came the point guard's ailment, who according to preliminary tests might be only cramps. Without Blatt, the yellow offense slowed down and Gilboa were able to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Big buckets by Levi Randolph and Roman Sorkin, who led Maccabi's scorers with 17 and 15 points accordingly, tilted the score in their favor for good.
Maccabi will travel to Kaunas later in the week to face Zalgiris on Thursday.