Bayern Munich 
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv Bayern Munich
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Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
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Thursday at 21:30: Bayern Munich - Maccabi
The Yellow & Blue head out to the capital of Bavaria as they come to the contest holding a three-game winning streak. Sfairopoulos: "We really need to be concentrated and play our game because if not, we will have a difficult time"
The 14:6 Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv departed on Wednesday to Germany as they’ll face Bayern Munich in the “Audi Dome”, as part of the 21st EuroLeague round (Thursday, 21:30 ISR time, live on Sport5 – channel 55). Holding a three-game winning streak in the European competition, the Yellow & Blue will look to build off that momentum and get a similar result to the last matchup between the clubs in round 12, defeating the German squad 77:55 at Menora Mivtachim Arena. Scottie Wilbekin led all scorers with 16 points, Othello Hunter contributed 15, as Yovel Zoosman added 13 points and 8 rebounds. On the other end, Petteri Koponen and Vladimir Lucic each scored 10 points.
“Bayern will try to fight hard for the win, we really need to be concentrated and play our game because if not, we will have a difficult time”. Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos about the opposition. “T.J Bray is a very good creator, they missed this type of player in the first matchup, as they didn’t have the luxury to have Lo and Bray”.
“The drive to win led us to this position”, Emphasized Sfairopoulos. “Although all of the unexpected circumstances that could have hurt our game, we had stability bringing in our new additions. As long as we will practice together, we will become better and better. We have players that are with us for the past couple of weeks, so they are in a much better situation than what they came in, but they still have a lot to improve. Hopefully, winning and getting better will make us perform even better than now”.
“I’m very happy we were able to sign Amar’e, he will help us in the Israeli league and in the EuroLeague”, Told coach about the newest addition. “We all know his great career, his qualities, and hopefully, he’s in good shape to help us. I won’t say how I’ll use him in the EuroLeague, you will see it on the court. I’m still waiting to see him, but for sure, he is a player that can give us solutions in the European competition”.
About the timing of the signing said Sfairopoulos: “We waited to see Casspi’s condition. When a couple of days ago, the decision was that he would have surgery, that’s when we decided to sign an Israeli player. Once again I want to thank the owners, although we are over the budget they decided to sign one more player and give another extra push to the team”.
“I’m really excited about the addition, with all of the injuries we have had, we needed help. Hopefully, Amar’e will help us as soon as possible”. Said Jake Cohen about his new batterymate. “The injuries hurt us lately. It’s a big testament to our team that we were able to win games and play good basketball despite all of that. I’m hopeful that the new guys can build off what we started, Aaron and Jaylen have done a great job integrating themselves into the team and being great in the locker room. I’m hopeful Amar’e can do the same thing because everyone knows the caliber player he is”.
“It’s the unfortunate part of the game, but sometimes things just happen”, Referred Cohen about the injury bug around the team. “I know how well our guys take care of their bodies working with Regev Fanan and the physiotherapists, I see it every day, but sometimes you just get hit in the wrong way. Sometimes you get a few bad cards from the dealer, that’s life”.
Bayern beat Maccabi 80:68
The Yellow & Blue drop to 14:7 in the EuroLeague after the loss in Germany. Bryant led the scorers with 14 points, Jackson added 11 points and 6 assists
After three straight EuroLeague wins, Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv snap the winning streak after dropping a road loss to Bayern Munich, 68:80, as part of Round 21. Elijah Bryant led Maccabi scorers with 14 points, Aaron Jackson had his best game in his short tenure scoring 11 points and dishing 6 assists. The Yellow & Blue head back home to Menorah Mivtachim Arena as they’ll face up against Hapoel in the Tel Avivian derby (Sunday) and four days later will host Real Madrid (Thursday).
Scottie Wilbekin, Elijah Bryant, Angelo Caloiaro, Quincy Acy, and Othello Hunter opened in Giannis Sfairopoulos’s starting five. After a typical Acy three to start the game, the hosts splashed (5/6) from deep completing a 14:4 run. Jake Cohen hit a corner three, but Nihad Dedovic scored his 8th point of the quarter that led the Bayern to a 23:12 advantage after 10 minutes.
The second quarter began in the same momentum as the last quarter ended. However, Maccabi’s defense kept her within striking distance as each team only scored twice in the first 5 minutes of the second quarter, 16:27. Aaron Jackson came off the bench and sparked a change in the offense draining his first three-pointer of the season as Bryant scored 10 second-quarter points to minimize the host’s lead to 33:35 heading into halftime.
The second half couldn’t start in a better way for the Yellow & Blue; Scottie Wilbekin, who wasn’t connecting in the first two quarters, scored a shot from deep early in the third and hit his second one that gave the visitors the edge, 41:39. Petteri Koponen connected on a three-pointer at the end of the period to give the hosts a 4 point advantage, 53:57, for the final 10 minutes.
T.J Bray increased Bayern’s lead up to 9 early in the fourth quarter, but Jackson hit a shot from deep to cut down the lead 56:62. Hunter couldn’t convert a three-point play, and Dedovic hit a three that gave the reds an 8 point advantage. The Yellow & Blue ran out of time as the hosts continued hitting shots from deep, 68:80 to Bayern Munich over Maccabi.
