At the NOKIA Arena (20:45) vs Climamio. that two weeks ago was beaten by Maccabi in Bologna 84-89. Tal Burstein returns after missing the games in Bologna and vs Real Madrid.
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv is supposed to assure its place in the Euroleague quarter final tonight (NOKIA Arena, 20:45) with a win over Climamio Bologna. Head coach Pini Gershon welcomes back Tal Burstein who missed the last two Euroleague games through injury. “I don`t know how much he will be able to play”, says Gershon, “but I am sure he is going to contribute”. Jasmin Repesa, the Croatian coach of Climamio, thinks that Maccabi were lucky to win 89-84 in Bologna. “But there is no doubt that at home Maccabi are always favorites”, says Repesa. And he should know. He coached the team that were thrashed 74-118 in the Final Four 2004 Final at the NOKIA Arena. In four games vs Gershon, Repesa won only once, 99-89 on January 2004 in Tel Aviv. Maccabi holds a 6-4 lead in meetings between the two clubs. The leading players for the Italian Champions are: Croat Center Dalibor Bagaric (2.16m), Slovenians Sani Becirovic & Erazem Lorbek, Americans Travis Watson & Kewane Garris & Italian prodigy Marco Belinelli.
