Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated EA7 Emporio Armani 86-66 at Nokia Arena, earning a ticket to the 2014 Euroleague Final Four after taking the playoff series 3 games to 1. Tyus and Hickman were outstanding with 16 points each.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv has qualified for the Euroleague Final Four after defeating Armani Milan 86-66 at Nokia Arena and taking the series between the teams 3 games to 1. Alex Tyus (9 rebounds) and Ricky Hickman (5 assists) led Maccabi’s scorers with 16 points each. Devin Smith was outstanding with 13 points and 9 rebounds. David Blu and Sofo Schortsanitis each scored 11 points.
Starters for Maccabi were Devin Smith, Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon, Sofo Schortsanitis and Ricky Hickman. The start of the game was close, with three pointers by Hickman and Ohayon giving Maccabi an 8-6 lead after two and a half minutes. Maccabi continued to score from downtown, taking a 14-8 lead thanks to Hickman and Pnini. Langford, who was the only effective player on the court for the Italians, evened the score, but David Blu responded on the other end to put Maccabi up 19-16 with two and a half minutes left on the clock. Once again Milan responded, and the period ended with the visitors leading 21-19.
The second quarter got underway with a putback by Alex Tyus, but Moss scored quickly for Milan and reclaimed the lead. Another triple from Blu at the top of the arc tied the score at 27 halfway through the period, and the teams continued to trade buckets and the lead until Moss and Hackett opened up a lead for Milan that Maccabi had trouble closing. The teams went into the halftime break with Maccabi trailing 43-35.
Maccabi came out in the third quarter with fire in their eyes, using excellent defense to force a shot clock violation on the visitors and later stealing the ball; after two and a half minutes Maccabi had pulled within two, 43-41. Pnini and Sofo traded points with Langford until a dunk by Tyus made it 50-48 Maccabi just past the halfway mark. The teams once again traded buckets, and the period ended with Milan up by two, 56-54.
Maccabi was not to be denied in the final quarter, as six points by Tyus, a three pointer by Smith, and a layup by Hickman put Maccabi up 63-58 after three minutes. Rice added two straight layups and a dish to Tyus for another dunk, while Smith drained another triple to put Maccabi’s lead in double digits, 74-62 with four minutes on the clock. Blu added a deuce and a trey with two and a half minutes remaining, 79-65. Smith added a final three pointer and Hickman scored twice to end the game with an 86-66 victory for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and a ticket to the 2014 Euroleague Final Four, which will take place next month in Milan.
