By Amy Samin

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv will be setting off for the Euroleague Final Four with a 2 – 0 lead over Barak Netanya in the Israeli championship quarterfinals. The next meeting between the two teams will be on 12 May at Nokia Arena. Pargo (7 assists) and Blu with a string of three-pointers, led all scorers for Maccabi with 19 points apiece. Hendrix, who was outstanding under both baskets, notched another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Coach Blatt led off with Guy Pnini, Lior Eliyahu, Chuck Eidson, Jeremy Pargo, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, while Netanya’s starters were Shmulik Brener, Chris Watson, Tony Washam, Adrian Banks and Romeo Travis. The home team got off to a good start, grabbing a 6 – 3 lead in the first minute and a half, but Maccabi stayed close, taking a 12 – 10 lead off a catch-and-shoot by David Blu (his first of four three-pointers of the night; assist Pnini). Netanya scored six unanswered points to retake the lead, but a Blu-and-shoot from the left corner put Maccabi back within one, 16 – 15 with four minutes left in the period. A layup and one by Eidson made it 18 – 17, Maccabi, but Banks scored to swing the advantage back over to the hosts. Points by Blu, co-captain Tal Burstein and Pnini rounded out the quarter, which ended with Maccabi leading 23 – 19.

A dunk by Burstein in the second minute of the second quarter gave Maccabi a 27 – 21 point lead, but a pair of layups by Banks soon brought Netanya within two, 29 – 27. After a timeout, the hosts grabbed a 30 – 29 lead, but it evaporated seconds later with points by Pargo, Sofo, and Eidson; the latter’s stop and pop making it 35 – 32, Maccabi with just over four minutes left in the period. The score alternated between a lead for Maccabi and a tie, until free throws by Elton Brown gave Netanya a 39 – 38 lead with three and a half minutes left in the half. Eidson’s spin and in (assist Blu) set the stage for Sofo’s putback dunk to reclaim the advantage, 42 – 21 with 1:16 on the clock. In the end, it was points by Washam that closed out the period, and the teams went into the halftime break with hosts Netanya up by one, 43 – 42.

The third quarter started with a layup by Sofo that flipped the advantage, which was soon turned back around by Travis. Blu drained his third three-pointer (assist Eidson) a minute and a half into the period and Pnini’s save-and-shoot put Maccabi up 49 – 45 soon after. Blu and Richard Hendrix scored from inside to make it 53 – 49, but Travis and Segev combined to tie the score at 53 with about three and a half minutes left in the period. In the next two and a half minutes the lead changed hands four more times, with Blu, Pargo, and Hendrix returning the lead to Maccabi. Pnini’s shot from outside the arc (assist Burstein) gave Maccabi some breathing room, and the third quarter ended with the score 65 – 61, Maccabi.

Hendrix and Pargo combined to make it 70 – 61 after a minute and a half in the fourth quarter, and points by Netanya were answered by Blu and Sofo. A Pargo-licious coast-to-coast trip made it 77 – 65 three and a half minutes into the period. Banks scored an impressive dunk for the hosts, but Pargo responded with five straight points, including a special delivery from beyond downtown that made it 82 – 67 midway through the quarter. The point guard continued to dazzle with a textbook alley oop to Hendrix for the dunk which extended Maccabi’s lead to seventeen, 86 – 69 and caused Netanya to retreat into a time-out. JP went on to pick Segev’s pocket and score from the charity stripe before taking a breather on the bench with three minutes left on the clock. The final minutes of the game were notable for the five straight points scored by Milan Mačvan (assists Sofo and Pargo), and the game ended with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeating Barak Netanya 92 – 78 and taking a 2 – 0 lead in the quarterfinals of the Israeli Championship.

Box Score:

Maccabi: Pargo 19 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals; Blu 19 points, 5 rebounds; Hendrix 11 points, 11 rebounds; Eidson 11 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds; Schortsanitis 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists; Pnini 8 points, 3 assists, 2 steals; Mačvan 7 points, 5 rebounds; Eliyahu 4 points, 2 rebounds; Burstein 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists.

After his team’s decisive victory over Netanya, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv head coach David Blatt was finally willing to discuss the team’s upcoming game against Real Madrid in the Euroleague Final Four, to take place this coming Friday in Barcelona. “No one thought that we would be in the Final Four, and now everyone is saying we have to win it all. We’ve worked very hard, and from the standpoint of our record and the statistics, we are one of the best teams in Europe. It’s important to keep playing to the best of our abilities, and now is the time to try and utilize that. I’m a little concerned that we haven’t played in Europe for the last month, because the level of basketball here is not as good. We’re going to do our best to be ready for our game against Real Madrid.”

Game MVP David Blu said, “We tried to stay relaxed even when we were down. I don’t think there’s any comparison between tonight’s game and the game we’re going to have against Real Madrid; they’re a better, stronger team [than Netanya]. We’re going to work on our game plan, and on improving our possessions and rebounds, because in Barcelona we’re going to have to excel at that.”

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