Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv suffered their second straight loss to Fenerbahce Ulker in Game 2 of the Euroleague Top 8 quarterfinal series, 82-67. Pargo led Maccabi’s scorers with 16 points.
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By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv suffered their second straight loss to Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul in Game 2 of the Euroleague Top 8 best-of-five quarterfinal series, 82-67. Jeremy Pargo led Maccabi’s scorers with 16 points, Brian Randle scored 13 points, Nate Linhart added 12 points, and Sylven Landesberg contributed 11 points. The series now moves to Tel Aviv, where Game 3 will take place on Monday, April 20 at Menora Mivtachim Arena (9:05 pm, local time).
Starters for Maccabi were Jeremy Pargo, Devin Smith, Brian Randle, Yogev Ohayon, and Sofo Schortsanitis. The Turks opened strong and ran to 9-2 in the first three and a half minutes of the game, causing head coach Guy Goodes to call for a time out. Fenerbahce continued to score at will, and points from Randle, Pargo, and Sylven Landesberg weren’t enough to get Maccabi back in the game. The period ended with the hosts holding a 30-14 lead.
Maccabi looked sharper in the early minutes of the second quarter, holding Fenerbahce to three points while Smith, Randle, Tyus, and Pargo combined to cut Maccabi’s deficit to ten, 33-23 after four minutes of action. Halfway through the period the Turks flipped a switch, running 11-3 to claim a 44-26 lead with two minutes left in the half. Points from downtown by Smith (left corner) and Nate Linhart (twice from the right wing) weren’t enough to get Maccabi back in the game, and the teams went into the break with Fenerbahce leading 50-34.
Maccabi came out in the second half ready to fight their way back into the game, but after three minutes had only managed to close to 55-36. Two layups and a point after from the foul line by Pargo helped a little, but with five minutes left in the period the hosts led by nineteen, 60-41. Fenerbahce continued dominate the game, while Landesberg scored on the right wing, Randle added a slam, and a trey by Pargo at the buzzer made it 68-53 going into the final quarter.
A steal by Randle and a dunk on the fast break by Linhart looked to signal a change in tempo for Maccabi, but a technical called on Pargo shortly after changed the momentum. Four straight points by Randle brought Maccabi to 71-59 at the halfway mark, but with the scoreboard lighting up mainly on the hosts’ side despite points by Landesberg and Linhart in the final two minutes, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv dropped to 0-2 in the quarterfinal series against Fenerbahce Ulker after losing the second game 82-67.
