A close game resulted in another Maccabi win, 75 – 69 over Asvel Basket of Villeurbanne. Alan Anderson scored an impressive 33 points. This victory earned Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv the trophy for the Angers Tournament.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi stayed with the winning combination from the previous night, starting the game with Chuck Eidson, Andrew (the Wiz) Wisniewski, D’or Fischer, Stephane Lasme, and Guy Pnini, who again took the place of the injured Alan Anderson.
The French opened strong and didn’t let Maccabi’s aggressive defense put them off their stride.
A three-pointer from Campbell put Asvel up 5 – 1 after two minutes of play.
Maccabi head coach Pini Gershon subbed in Doron Perkins for the Wiz early in the game, but a three-pointer by Kangur gave Asvel a 10 – 3 lead, four minutes into the game.
Raviv Limonad, who came in for Pnini, supplied a terrific assist to Lasme, which narrowed Maccabi’s deficit to 10 – 6.
Alan Anderson, who played despite his injury, came into the game to try and help Maccabi close the gap.
With two minutes left in the period, a basket by Limonad put Maccabi within four, 14 – 10.
Anderson from the free throw line got Maccabi within one before the end of the quarter, 15 – 14 to Asvel.
The first points of the second period didn’t appear on the scoreboard until after 2 minutes of play, when Lasme, with a basket plus foul, gave Maccabi the lead (17 – 15) for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.
Points from midrange by Lampe gave Maccabi a 22 – 19 lead going into a time out.
After the break, Anderson scored three to put Maccabi up by six halfway through the period, but a shower of three-pointers by Bobby Dixon and Eric Campbell gave Asvel back the lead, 30 – 27.
Anderson answered with a long shot of his own, and sent an assist to Fischer to give Maccabi back the lead, 34 – 33 at the half.
Maccabi opened strong in the third period, taking a 45 – 40 lead after three minutes of play, with Lasme and Anderson providing the points, and the Wiz the assists.
But two three-pointers from the French, plus an unsportsmanlike foul called against Wisniewski, gave Asvel a 9 – 0 run and put them back on top, 49 – 45.
The next few minutes of the quarter were characterized by a lot of missed shots and turnovers, until Pnini scored from outside the arc, tying the score at 50 all with two minutes left in the period.
A perfect drive to the basket by the Wiz ended the quarter, with the French up by one, 54 – 53.
Asvel got off to a strong start in the final quarter of the game, expanding their lead to eight, 62 – 54, within three minutes.
A three-pointer by Anderson put Maccabi within five.
With five minutes left in the game, Anderson scored again, and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct foul which helped put Maccabi in the lead, 67 – 66.
Dixon with another three-pointer put the French back in the lead and started off a suspenseful seesaw of scoring.
With a minute remaining in the game, the referee called an offensive foul on Ali Tararua, who started screaming at him, leading the ref to add on a technical.
Thanks to that, Anderson was able to put Maccabi in the lead, 71 – 69, with fifty seconds remaining.
A turnover by Pnini led to a French fast break which, fortunately for Maccabi, ended in a spectacular defensive move by Fischer.
Wisniewski grabbed the rebound and Anderson got sent to the free throw line, with 16 seconds remaining.
His two points assured Maccabi of the win.
Final score, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 75, Asvel Basket 69.
Box Scores
Maccabi: Anderson 33 points, 4 rebounds; Lasme 14 points, 6 rebounds; Fischer 12 points, 7 rebounds; Pnini 6 points; Lampe 4 points; Wisniewski 3 points, 5 assists; Limonad 2 points; Perkins 1 point; Eidson 5 rebounds, 3 assists.
Pini Gershon summarized the game and the tournament: “Nothing’s simple, and it doesn’t really matter who you’re playing, but how you play.
We had a tough tournament, and the three referees and the crowd didn’t like us.
We didn’t have a great game, but we’re going to have games like that.
Whenever we don’t manage to set a fast pace, we’re going to have to be sure and keep the other team to below 70 points.
I’m happy we did that tonight.”
About Guy Pnini, who was given a place in the starting five, Gershon said, “He’s from the ‘hood, and that’s how you win games.
He did the job just like he should.
In my opinion, he’s a legitimate fifth player on Maccabi.”
Guy Pnini: “I feel great; I just hope it keeps on that way.
All my life I’ve been a leader, and that’s what I’m used to.
That’s what I know.
This is the best place to do that, and you have to know how to win games like these.”
Sharon Drucker: “We really needed a tough game like we had tonight against a Euroleague team.
It’s possible to say that it came at the best possible time we could have asked for.
We showed character when we were able to come back from an eight point deficit close to the end of the game.
We are extremely happy about winning this tournament, which is without a doubt a quality competition.
We take a lot of encouragement from it for the future.
We’re going to keep working hard as we go on from here to Germany.”
Alan Anderson, who was outstanding with 33 points: “I wanted to help the team, and I’m happy I was able to.
Our team has really come together, and it’s a team sport.”
