By Amy Samin

After falling short in the first contest in the quarterfinal series, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv swept the next three games in decisive fashion, wrapping things up with a tremendous 99 – 77 win over Caja Laboral of Vitoria, Spain and distinguishing themselves as one of the four best teams in Europe. The semifinal will take place in Barcelona; Maccabi will face either Real Madrid or Valencia.

The pre-game festivities included a video message from injured point guard Doron Perkins, who from his hospital bed urged his teammates and the fans to “take care of this game.” Coach Blatt’s starting five were Jeremy Pargo, Lior Eliyahu, Guy Pnini, Chuck Eidson and Sofoklis Schortsanitis. The Spaniards led off with Marcelinho Huertas, Mirza Teletovic, Esteban Batista, Fernando San Emeterio, and Brad Oleson. Maccabi started the game as they meant to go on, with lots of intensity, teamwork, and aggressive defense. Eliyahu scored first off an assist from Eidson, and Pnini fired off his first points, scoring from inside the arc (assist Pargo). Batista scored first for the Spanish team, but was answered by Sofo. Eliyahu dished to Pnini on a give-and-go, then scored himself to put Maccabi up 10 – 4 three minutes into the period. Caja Laboral fought their way back, tying the game at 11, but Pargo delivered a stop and pop from the top of the arc to give Maccabi back the lead, 14 – 11 just past the midpoint of the quarter. The teams traded baskets for a few minutes, with a three from Teletovic on the right wing tying the score at 18. Once again it was Pargo who put Maccabi back on top, 20 – 18 with a spinning drive to the basket. Maccabi kept up the intensity on defense, using a full-court press, breaking up plays, and diving for the ball. A steal + layup by David Logan put Caja Laboral up 23 – 22 with less than a minute remaining in the period, but points from downtown by Pargo (assist Milan Mačvan) put Maccabi on top 25 – 23 as time ran out.

Oleson quickly retied the score in the opening seconds of the second quarter, but Pargo responded with a fadeaway jumper from the left side. Teletovic tied the score and then gave his team the lead following another steal by Logan. The score seesawed between a tie and a slim lead for Caja Laboral over the next couple of minutes, until Huertas built on a three by Logan to give the visitors a bit of cushion, 36 – 31 after three and a half minutes. David Blu delivered a bomb from the right wing, and followed it with another to put Maccabi within one, 38 – 37 near the mid-point of the period. The Spaniards protected their lead, however, with 5 straight points by Oleson, but that advantage was cut in half by a huge three by Pnini, making it 43 – 41 with three minutes left in the half. Huertas scored for the visitors and was answered by Eliyahu, but it was the King of Clutch Guy Pnini with two straight threes (assists Eliyahu and Pargo) and a steal in between, who gave Maccabi back the lead, 49 – 46 with less than a minute on the clock. Huertas responded in kind, but two from Mačvan (assist Pnini) made it 51 – 49. It was Teletovic at the buzzer who gave Caja Laboral a slim 52 – 51 lead going into halftime.

The visitor’s lead grew slightly at the start of the third period with a dunk by Batista, but Blu and Sofo had the lead back in Maccabi’s hands after a minute and a half. Pargo found Richard Hendrix under the basket to make it 58 – 54, Maccabi. Hendrix added a dunk (assist Pnini) and Eliyahu served up points under one basket and a huge block at the other end, which resulted in a shot clock violation for the Spanish team. A Pargo-licious layup was followed by a steal by Hendrix that resulted in three from the right corner by Pnini (assist Pargo). Five straight points by Pargo capped off a 14 – 0 scoring run and gave Maccabi a 72 – 56 lead with three and a half minutes left in the quarter. Batista’s two from the charity stripe broke the streak, but Maccabi was still running hot, with Blu scoring another of his patented catch-and-shoots (assist Hendrix) from the right wing, and Hendrix delivering an emphatic two handed dunk off a fake drive turned assist from Pargo, making it 77 – 60 with a minute and a half left in the period. Hendrix pulled down a couple of rebounds and rejected a shot by Huertas to end the quarter with Maccabi leading 79 – 62.

Hendrix opened the fourth quarter with another block that resulted in a reverse layup off the fastbreak by Pargo, who followed that up with a shot from beyond downtown to make it 84 – 62. Eidson delivered a beauty from the top of the arc to extend Maccabi’s lead, and went on to score a layup less than a minute later. Pnini also scored from 12 o’clock high (his fifth three-pointer of the night), but Blu favored the right corner for his fourth from outside the arc and made it 95 – 70 halfway through the period. Even with Maccabi’s lead at twenty-five points, the crowd at Nokia continued to cheer, scream, whistle, and sing. The tempo of the game slowed in the final minutes, with Eliyahu scoring twice to finish things out. Team captain Derrick Sharp ran down the final seconds on the clock, and the game ended with a 99 – 77 victory for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, who are bound for Barcelona and the Euroleague Final Four.

Box Score:

Maccabi: Pargo 26 points, 7 assists; Pnini 21 points (5 of 7 from three point range), 4 assists, 2 steals; Blu 17 points (4 of 6 from three point range); Eliyahu 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; Hendrix 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks; Eidson 7 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds; Schortsanitis 5 points; Mačvan 2 points, 2 rebounds.

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