Maccabi Defeats Roma 79 – 59

By Amy Samin

Maccabi opened with Raviv Limonad, Andrew Wisniewski, Stephane Lasme, Chuck Eidson and D’or Fischer.
The game got off to a slow start and was tied at 4 after a minute and a half.
A steal plus basket by Eidson was followed by an impressive three from Limonad, putting Maccabi up 11 – 6 after four minutes.
A basket plus foul for Eidson made it 14 – 8, but the Italians responded with a three-pointer to keep the game close.
David Bluthenthal and Limonad each scored from outside the arc, but Roma didn’t give Maccabi the chance to break the game open, and the quarter ended with the score Maccabi 22, Roma 20.

Roma quickly tied the score in the opening seconds of the second quarter, then took the lead off points by Hutson.
Doron Perkins and Eidson scored to give the advantage back to Maccabi, 28 – 26 halfway through the period.
A series of turnovers by both teams ended when Lasme, who played well on both ends of the court, scored a jumper from mid-range to make it 30 – 27.
Eidson scored four points from the charity stripe, but Roma managed to tie the score at 35 before the half ended.

Alan Anderson, with 5 straight points, got the second half off to a good start for Maccabi.
The visitors answered with a three of their own, keeping it close.
Eidson scored a dunk off an assist from Limonad, and a long three from Anderson made it 45 – 43 Maccabi with seven minutes on the clock.
Maccabi’s defense kept Roma in check, while shots from outside the arc by Wiz and Guy Pnini (who nailed one at the shot clock buzzer) put Maccabi up 51 – 45 with just under three minutes left in the quarter.
Pnini drained another long one to close out the period with the score Maccabi 56, Roma 48.

The final quarter saw the start of a comeback by the Italians, until a bucket from Pnini off an assist by Wiz put Maccabi back up by eight, 59 – 51.
A long three from Bluthenthal, a steal by Pnini and points by Perkins brought the score to 64 – 51 at the halfway mark, effectively quashing Roma.
Eidson continued to score from the line, and a pretty little hook from Bluthenthal made it 71 – 53 with three minutes remaining.
A minute later, Tomer Bar Even came into the game for Pnini and played his first minutes in a Maccabi uniform.
Perkins with two from the free throw line closed out the game in a victory for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, 79 – 59 over Lottomatica Roma.

Box Scores

Maccabi: Eidson 23 points, 4 assists; Bluthenthal 15 points; Perkins 9 points; Anderson, Pnini and Limonad 8 points each; Lasme 5 points; Wisniewski 3 points, 5 assists; Fischer 7 rebounds; Bar Even played but did not score.

Lottomatica: Hutson 14 points; Minard 12 points; Crosariol 10 points; Vitali 8 points; Winston 6 points; Gigli 5 points; Datome and Giachetti 2 points each.

After the game, head coach Pini Gershon said, “We played well defensively, but we missed some good shots from the field and from the line.
We didn’t prepare well this week, and the game only opened up at the last minute.
Yaniv Green (who did not play due to back pain) would have stopped Hutson a few times, something we weren’t able to do, and I think the lack of Anderson was made up for by the great ability shown by Chuck, Raviv and Guy.”

“We need to come to the next game ready.
The final score doesn’t reflect the first three quarters, but at least we forced them to play badly.”
When asked about Maciej Lampe, Gershon said, “Lampe is an excellent player but he’s not what we need.
They told me he was a better player or that he suited us.
To get a player who is strong under the basket isn’t easy, and we don’t have the money for it.
It’s tough for anyone to adjust, but we’ll look for someone who will also fit in for the coming years.”

Game MVP Chuck Eidson, who scored 23 points, said “Rome’s a good team, and we didn’t play well.
In the second half; we got into the game too late.
We did better in the second half and won.
Now we need to win in Greece and see what happens.”

David Bluthenthal added, “We didn’t panic when they scored well, and we made some good shots in the fourth quarter.
I knew I would play more minutes because we’re missing a couple of players.
I felt better than I did in earlier games.
The game against Maroussi will be a tough one, and important for us in terms of ranking.”

Guy Pnini, who scored 8 points, said, “I’m happy that the points I scored helped us to win.
We ran well, but that won’t be enough in the coming games and we need to improve.
It’s good that we won after the break, and we’ll see what happens.”

Alan Anderson, who has been sick recently and only played 16 minutes, added, “I came in off the bench, and I knew I would get tired quickly, so I tried to do the best I could before that happened.
We needed some points, and I’m happy I got into the game and played aggressively.”