Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv lost their Euroleague season opener to Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in Spain, 84-80. Hickman led Maccabi’s scorers; Ingles and Ohayon also played well.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv battled for the full forty minutes, but in the end came up short against Laboral Kutxa Vitoria, 84-80 in the Euroleague season opener in Spain. Ricky Hickman (20 points) Joe Ingles (14 points), and Yogev Ohayon (11 points) played well for Maccabi. Next week, Maccabi will face Crvena Zvezda Telekom (Red Star Belgrade) in their Euroleague home opener.
Starters for Maccabi were David Blu, Sofo Shortsanitis, Joe Ingles, Ricky Hickman and Tyrese Rice. Hosts Laboral Kutxa Vitoria got off to a strong start but Maccabi kept pace, and after five minutes the score was tied at 12. The Spaniards broke things open in the second part of the quarter, taking a 22-14 lead. Team captain Shawn James and Yogev Ohayon closed the gap a little, and the period ended with the hosts leading 24-18.
The second quarter started with a fadeaway hook by James, and Hickman added a layup and points from the line to make it 28-25 after two minutes. The home team continued to dominate in the paint, however, and climbed to a double digit lead, 36-25 by the middle of the quarter. A dunk by Alex Tyus (assist Sylven Landesberg), a drive in the paint by Hickman and a triple by Ingles off a steal by Rice put Maccabi back in the game, 38-32. Hickman and James added points at the end of the quarter, but the hosts kept their distance and the teams went into the break with Laboral leading 48-38.
The third quarter got underway with points from Rice, Ingles and Smith that made it 53-45, but the Spaniards fought their way back to a ten point lead, 58-48 with three minutes left in the period. Seven straight points by Ingles (including a huge three on the left side) and points by Ohayon, James and Smith ended the period with Maccabi down by only one, 62-61.
Ohayon gave Maccabi their first lead of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, but Laboral quickly reclaimed it. Points by Landesberg and Hickman in the middle of the period put Maccabi back on top 72-69. The hosts battled their way back into the game, tying the score at 78 with two and a half minutes left on the clock. Maccabi couldn’t hold them back, and in the end Laboral Kutxa Vitoria defeated Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 84-80 in week 1 of the 2013-14 Euroleague season.
