Tonight (21:45) vs Climamio. Maccabi without the injured Tal Burstein. Coach Repesa wants to avenge the 44 pts defeat in 2004.
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv practiced last night in Bologna ahead of its third Top 16 game vs Climamio to be played tonight (21:45) at the Land Rover Arena. Climamio ended the regular season in second place in Group A with a 10-4 record. Both teams are on 1-1 in the Top 16 and both have injury problems. Maccabi will miss Tal Burstein who remained in Tel Aviv. Climamio`s captain Stefano Mancinelli has a broken nose and is doubtful for the game. Since the 1997/98 season. the teams met nine times and Maccabi holds a 5-4 lead. In its last visit to Bologna on 27/11/03, Maccabi won 111-104. The last meeting was in the final of the 2004 Final Four in Tel Aviv, with Maccabi crushing their rivals 118-74. The Bologna head coach is Croatian Jasmin Repesa, who coached the team in this final. Their leading players are: 20 years old Marco Belinelli with an average of 13.6 pts, Croatian center Dalibor Bagaric (2.16 m) averaging 9.8 pts & 5.2 rbds, US guard Kiwane Garris (9.8 pts, 1.4 asts), and US forwards Travis Watson (8.2 pts, 6.7 rbds). Other players worth mentioning: Nate Green (US) and Slovenians Sani Becirovic & Erazem Lorbek. Climamio averages 79.8 pts and shoots 52.1% for 2 pts, 38/1% for 3 pts & 68.5% in FT. `
