Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 
Zalgiris Kaunas Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Zalgiris Kaunas
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Maccabi back in Belgrade to host Zalgiris
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv are back in Belgrade after over a month on Thursday to host Zalgiris Kaunas (9:05 PM Israel time, 2:05 PM ET), in search for an eight consecutive win across all competitions. Oded Kattash’s team is 14-13 heading into the the contest, facing a tough Lithuanian group (11-16) who won 4 out of its previous 6 games.
The Israeli champs are without injured Roman Sorkin, with the availability of guard Tamir Blatt still uncertain after picking up a knee injury. Zalgiris appears to have a full squad for newly appointed head coach Andrea Trinchieri to use.
“We are expecting a game against a good opponent who is improving under Trinchieri”, commented coach Oded Kattash after practice on Wednesday, “They play with a lot of confidence and execute at a high level. Keenan is one of the most dominant players in the EuroLeague. We will have to contain him with 5 players and get the ball out of his hands”.
Maccabi won 22 out of 32 encounters with Zalgiris since the inception of the EuroLeague in the year 2000. The yellows also prevailed in the three previous home games against the greens, albeit this time the game will take place on neutral grounds in the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.
Maccabi edges Zalgiris with late run
In a scrappy and competitive contest, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv earned an eighth consecutive win, 83-76 over Zalgiris Kaunas in Belgrade. The yellows used a late run to edge the Lithuanians out en route to a 15-13 record with 6 games left in the regular season.
For most of the evening, there was not much seperating both teams. That is, until the rivals jumped to an 8-point lead in the 3rd quarter, leaving the Maccabees with their backs to the wall. That was when the yellows changed gears, tightened their defense and took control of the game.
The score remained close up until the final minute, but a run led by Josh Nebo, Wade Baldwin and Bonzie Colson provided Maccabi the win. Baldwin was top scorer with 16 points, while Tamir Blatt added 11. Colson, Nebo and James Webb each had 10 points, and Lorenzo Brown dished 10 assits.
Oded Kattash’s men will host Hapoel Jerusalem on Sunday, before returning to Belgrade next Thursday, this time as Crvena Zvezda’s guests.
