BC Khimki 
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv BC Khimki
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Tonight at 20:00: Khimki vs Maccabi
Euroleague season starts with an away game vs Rimas Kurtinaitis and his players. Coach Sfairopoulos: "They are an excellent offensive team"
Four Maccabi players will be making their EuroLeague debut (Quincy Acy, Elijah Bryant, Tyler Dorsey, and Sandy Cohen), while Omri Casspi is set for his first EuroLeague action after ten seasons in the NBA. On the other hand, Othello Hunter and Nate Walters will make their first official European appearance under the Yellow & Blue jersey.
On Khimki’s side, Coach Rimas Kurtinaitis remodeled his squad adding 11 new players. Sergey Karasev, Chris Kramer, Anthony Gill, Dairis Bertans and 2016 NBA champion Timofey Mozgov, are doubtful because of various injuries.
“The EuroLeague season is about to begin, and we have a tough game because Khimki brought in a lot of new stars”, Said coach Giannis Sfairopolous before the team’s departure to Russia. “They might have some missing players because of injury, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have the quality and the experience. They are an excellent offensive team, and defensively they are doing their best”.
(Photos: Dov Halickman)
“We need to be very concentrated and focused on playing our game plan. The players need to give their maximum effort because we want to fight until the end. We can’t underestimate any of Khimki’s players, the ones that were missing because of injuries can come out and cause problems if we don’t get ready for them. On the same note, you can say all of that on the healthy players because they are good players. We respect everybody, and we need to be ready for all of them, we are preparing as if Gil and Shved will play, and we will adjust in-game whether they play or not”.
Coach emphasized the importance of starting the season strong: “It is important for us, we start the season with two away games (Khimki & Real Madrid) against teams with bigger budgets and high ambitions. We will fight in both games starting against Khimki, and then we will see. When you play an away game, the home team always has the advantage. When you play away games, you always need to fight for your chances. and that’s what we will try to do”.
Sfairopoulos talked about Khimki’s squad: “They spent a lot of money this summer, they brought in talented players from the NBA and experienced EuroLeague players, we need to respect that. On the other hand, we are not afraid, and we’ll fight because we are also a good team”.
(Photos: Dov Halickman)
“It’s a tough matchup, especially in their place in Moscow.” Said second-year player, Scottie Wilbekin. “We need to focus mainly on ourselves, we need to improve from our last game and try to work on things we didn’t do as well”.
Opening the season better than the last one: “With the way we finished last season and the direction we’ve been going this preseason, I’m optimistic because of that, I know there is no way we can start that bad. It gives me a lot of hope that it won’t be like that again. We are all confident and ready to start on a good note”.
“Khimki has a pretty new team, so they are new to us on the scouting side. We will see how well they will fit together. Whoever is playing or not, I wish them a speedy recovery. It is what it is, injuries are part of the game, and we need to prepare for the whole team”.
(Photos: Dov Halickman)
Khimki defeats Maccabi 89:83
The Yellow & Blue opened up their EuroLeague season with a loss after they rallied back in the fourth quarter. Black led the way with 17 points, Casspi (13) and Hunter (11). Next Thursday: Real Madrid in Spain
Scored for Maccabi: Tarik Black 17 points, Omri Casspi 13 points, 6 rebounds, Othello Hunter 11 points & 8 rebounds, Elijah Bryant 10 points, Scottie Wilbekin 9 points & 3 assists, Nate Wolters 7 points, John Dibartolomeo 6, Quincy Acy (8 rebounds), Yovel Zoosman 4 points each, Deni Avdija played but didn’t score and Jack Cohen did not play. Scored for Khimki: Alexey Shved 22 points & 6 assists, Anthony Gill 18 points, 6 rebounds & 4 assists, and Janis Timma 17 points.
Coach Sfairopoulos decided to open the game with Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Yovel Zoosman, Omri Casspi, and Tarik Black in his starting five. After a Devin Booker basket, Casspi scored Maccabi’s first two points of their European season. The Russians were in control early, going up 7:3, but then the Yellow & Blue started feeding Tarik Black inside the paint that kept them in the game. The big man finished with seven first-quarter points, while on the other end, Janis Timma knocked a trio of threes to give Khimki a 24:21 lead after one.
The second quarter began in the same way it ended, Anthony Gill punished the visitors with Khimki’s sixth three-pointer of the night, however, four Nate Wolters points kept Maccabi in it. The Yellow & Blue couldn’t find answers for Timma, as he helped the Russians take a double-digit advantage midway through the second quarter. In the final minutes, Casspi led the Israeli Champions to reduce Khimki’s lead to 8, 40:48, heading to the locker rooms.
A Quincy Acy dunk kept Maccabi within 4, but once again, the Russian’s behind Jonas Jerebko’s 5 straight points, answered back with a 13:0 run hitting shots from downtown. The Russians scored 27 points in the third to give Khimki a commanding 75:61 lead, going into the final quarter.
John DiBartolomeo hit a three-pointer to make it 80-70, but Alexey Shved answered with a fadeaway jumper to bring the lead back to double digits. Maccabi never gave up, Elijah Bryant and Black reduced the lead to 5, 82:77. With a minute to go, Deni Avdija blocked a shot but missed a three-pointer on the other end. Yovel Zoosman penetrated to the basket, scored and drew a foul, 84:80 with 32 seconds to go. The Young guard missed the free throw, grabbed his own rebound, but Jerebko read the pass and stole the ball to seal the deal. Khimki beats Maccabi 89:83.
