By Amy Samin

A fabulous second half helped Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeat Real Madrid in the Euroleague championship semi-final by a score of 82 – 63 on Friday in Barcelona. Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos awaits them in the Final, which will take place on Sunday afternoon. Eidson, Pnini, Schortsanitis, and Blu dominated the third and fourth quarters.

Maccabi’s starters were Jeremy Pargo, Guy Pnini, Chuck Eidson, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, and Lior Eliyahu. The faced off against Sergio Llull, Ante Tomic, Pablo Prigioni, Felipe Reyes, and Carlos Suarez. Maccabi seemed to be having some opening-night jitters at the start of the game, and Real took advantage, jumping to a 4 – 0 lead. A three from the right corner by the King of Clutch Pnini got Maccabi into the game, and points by Sofo cut Real’s lead to 6 – 5, after four minutes of play. The quarter was dominated by defense, however, and with just over three minutes left on the clock the score had only reached an 8 – 8 tie. The Spaniards scored but were answered by Eidson, and a free throw by Pargo gave Maccabi their first lead of the game, 11 – 10 with a minute and a half left in the period. Pnini drained another three, and former Maccabi player D’Or Fischer’s two points from the charity stripe ended the period with Maccabi leading 14 – 12.

Shots from downtown by David Blu and Pnini gave Maccabi a comfortable 20 – 14 lead early in the second quarter, which was increased with a dunk by Sofo and a layup by Eidson, making it 24 – 19 near the halfway point in the period. Richard Hendrix came into the game after a time out and scored two straight buckets, including a two-handed dunk off an assist from Pargo. When Sofo came into the game for Hendrix, he too scored twice in the paint to finish out the half with Maccabi leading 32 – 29.

Free throws helped Real Madrid pull within one at the start of the third quarter, but Eidson responded with a three from the left wing. The big center went on to score a bucket and one to increase Maccabi’s lead, and a Pargo-licious drive ended in a one-handed dunk that made it 40 – 32. JP followed up with another dazzling move that brought the score to 42 – 35 after four minutes of play in the period. By then Maccabi had begun dominating the game at both ends of the court, and outscored Real 13 – 6 in the final minutes of the quarter, thanks to points by Blu (off a fast break), Eidson from the foul line, and Hendrix with a putback. Eidson stole the ball on an inbounds and cruised to a layup and one at the other end to give Maccabi a ten point lead, 53 – 43 with less than a minute and a half remaining in the period. Pargo wrapped things up with another drive to the basket to make it 55 – 47 at the end of three quarters.

The fourth quarter opened with a stop-and-pop by Blu for two, a steal by Pnini, and a bomb by Eidson from the top of the arc. Pargo also scored from downtown, while Hendrix dominated the boards at the other end. A three by Blu made it 66 – 49 with six minutes left in the game. Eidson scored another three (assist by co-captain Tal Burstein), Pnini scored a layup, and Sofo added a pair of layups of his own to put the score at 75 – 54. Pnini scored his fourth three-pointer of the night from the right side with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Maccabi’s final points of the game were scored by beloved team captain Derrick Sharp, who delivered a classic bomb from the left side and put the seal on Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s 82 – 63 victory over Real Madrid in the Euroleague championship semi-final game. On Sunday, Maccabi will face Panathinaikos in the Final.

Box Score:

Maccabi: Eidson 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals; Schortsanitis 16 points, 5 rebounds; Pnini 14 points; Pargo 13 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds; Blu 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; Hendrix 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block; Sharp 3 points.

Real Madrid: Tomic 17 points; Reyes 15 points; Prigioni and Llull 9 points; Suarez 8 points; Tucker 3 points; Fischer 2 points.