Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv wrapped up the Euroleague regular season with an impressive 8-2 record after defeating Panathinaikos Athens in the Greek capital, 68-55. Blu led Maccabi’s scorers with 13 points, Ingles and Hickman added 10 points each.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv wrapped up the Euroleague regular season with an easy 68-55 victory over Panathinaikos Athens in Greece, finishing with an impressive 8-2 record. David Blu led Maccabi’s scorers, while Ricky Hickman and Joe Ingles added 10 points each and Guy Pnini contributed 9 points.
Maccabi’s starters were Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon and Sofo Schortsanitis. The game was close in the early minutes, with the hosts taking a 10-7 lead until points by Pnini (assist Ohayon) and Joe Ingles put Maccabi on top 11-10 halfway through the period. Five straight points by Smith, along with buckets by Ingles and Alex Tyus, were followed by a three on the right wing by David Blu (assist Ingles) that ended the period with Maccabi leading 23-14.
Panathinaikos narrowed the gap at the start of the second quarter, but a triple from Ingles and four points by Blu (including one off a dime from Jake Cohen) gave Maccabi a double digit lead, 32-21 halfway through the period. The pace slowed as the half wound down, with Cohen adding a one-handed slam and Ohayon adding points in the paint. The teams went into the halftime break with Maccabi up 36-27.
Although Panathinaikos kicked off the scoring in the third quarter, Maccabi took charge, with points from Ingles, Smith and Tyus making it 43-32 after three and a half minutes. Tyrese Rice and Pnini combined to put Maccabi up 52:35 with a minute and a half left in the period. Hickman with two straight buckets from downtown ended the quarter with Maccabi leading 58-35.
The hosts went on a 12-0 scoring run in the second quarter, pulling within eleven until Blu came into the game and drained two three pointers to give Maccabi some breathing room, 63-49. Rice also added points from outside the arc, and Hickman’s fast break dunk wrapped things up as Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Panathinaikos Athens in Greece, 68-55.
