Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 
Fenerbahce Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
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DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Fenerbahce
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Wednesday at 21:00: Fenerbahce comes into town
After five straight wins, four of them at home, The Yellow & Blue, continue their tough week as they wait to face Fenerbahce at Menora Mivtachim Arena. Sfairopoulos: "Together with the fans, we will fight for the win"
“Tomorrow we play against an excellent team that didn’t start the season well, but they have quality”. Said coach Giannis Sfairopoulos in the official press conference before the game. “We need to play as a team, to be very concentrated on following our game plan and together with the fans to fight for the win”.
“Their coach said that he isn’t happy with the way his team played last game, but they have the quality to play great”. Told Sfairopoulos to the reports about Fenerbahce’s form coming into the game. “We need to think about ourselves, how to play our type of basketball because we believe in our team and in the way we work. We know they’ve had bad results, but they had a difficult schedule, and this is going to be their fourth away game in five games, so it isn’t easy to play on the road in the EuroLeague”.
“I feel the wounded animal perspective from them”. Said Maccabi’s center Tarik Black about the Turkish squad. “They are a really good team, and we respect who they are. We had a great home stretch, and we get to play in our home arena. We expect our fans to show up tomorrow and even be more supportive of ending this home stretch off in the right way before we head out to Athens”.
“Our biggest thing is bringing our crowd out, protecting our home court, and emphasizing getting the fans involved early on defense”. — stated Elijah Bryant towards the matchup against Fenerbahce.
“I think in general, any team in this league is a very good one, but as you lose a few, you might come out with more energy. We will come ready every single night, and we are eager to play”.
“I think the focus is to get stops on defense”. Said Bryant. “They have a lot of talented players, but if we can lock in on defense, we can be where we want to be. The locker room is excited to protect our home court, and we are focused on this game now”.
Maccabi stays unbeaten at home with a 67:55 victory over Fenerbahce
The Yellow & Blue dominated Obradovic's squad in the first half allowing only 21 points, winning their third straight EuroLeague game. Casspi (MVP) and Black (10 points & 15 rebounds) led Maccabi in the triumph
Scored for Maccabi: Omri Casspi 13 points (4-6 FG, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Nate Wolters (4-9 FG, 5 assists, 2 steals) & Othello Hunter (5-7 FG, 5 rebounds) 11 points each, Tarik Black 10 points (15 rebounds – 7 offensive), Scottie Wilbekin 9 points (2-3 3P, 2 steals), Yovel Zoosman 5 points, John DiBartolomeo & Tyler Dorsey 3 points each, Elijah Bryant 2 points (2 assists, 2 steals), Quincy Acy & Deni Avdija played but didn’t score.
Fenerbahce top scorers: Nando De Colo 13 points, Ali Muhammad & Derrick Williams 11 points each.
Scottie Wilbekin, Nate Wolters, Elijah Bryant, Omri Casspi, and Tarik Black opened in Giannis Sfairopoulos’s starting five.
Maccabi came out strong defensively, not allowing a point in the first four minutes of the game, Wilbekin with a big shot from three, gave the hosts a 5:0 lead. Jan Vesely came off the bench to score Fenerbahce’s first points of the contest, but Wolters with a beautiful floater put Maccabi on top by 6. The Yellow & Blue continued to play tough on defense, stopping the visitors on only 6 points in the first quarter, 12:6 Maccabi.
Tyler Dorsey opened the second quarter with a shot behind the arc, and Scottie Wilbekin, with five straight shots, gave the Yellow & Blue their first double-digit lead of the night, 20:9. Maccabi continued their incredible showing with Omri Casspi doing whatever he wants on the court, scoring six consecutive points, finishing a fastbreak with a huge slam, and finding Othello Hunter for a big alley hoop, Maccabi leads 30:12, midway through the second period. Maccabi ended up scoring 29 points in a fabulous quarter, 41:21 at halftime.
John DiBartolomeo, with a three, increased the lead to 23. Still, Fenerbahce didn’t say their last word, Ali Muhammad and Luigi Datome, led the visitors to 11 unanswered points to narrow Maccabi’s advantage all the way down to 8 points. Casspi calmed the Turkish momentum giving Maccabi a 52:41 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
The visitors continued to cut down the lead, however, Yovel Zoosman with a critical three-pointer gave some breathing room for the Yellow & Blue. De Colo reduced the lead to 5 points, but Tarik Black, with a couple of significant offensive rebounds helped Maccabi finish the game. Maccabi comes away with a big 67:55 victory over Fenerbahce.
