Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Ashdod 107 – 78 in a Hakirya Arena empty of fans owing to the escalation of hostilities in the area. Milan Mačvan had a fabulous game, scoring 25 points (on 100% shooting) and pulling down 7 rebounds.
By Amy Samin
Owing to the escalation of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into the cities and towns of southern Israel, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv carried out their 107 – 78 trouncing of Maccabi Ashdod in an empty arena (per instructions from the IDF) as week 25 of the Lotto League got underway. It was Maccabi’s 6th 100+ point game this season. Serbian center Milan Mačvan had a perfect game, scoring 25 points (10 for 10 from the field, 5 for 5 from the foul line) and taking 7 rebounds. Pargo nearly nailed a double-double, scoring 16 points and serving up 9 assists (helping give Maccabi their second consecutive 30+ assist game and their fifth of the season).
Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who contributed 15 points in 15 minutes of play, sustained what appears to be a mild injury to his left knee in the fourth quarter. His situation will be clarified on Sunday morning; the team’s professional staff is hopeful he will soon resume his normal activity.
Jeremy Pargo, Lior Eliyahu, Guy Pnini, Chuck Eidson, and Sofo Schortsanitis started the game for Maccabi, while Meir Tapiro, Josh Carter, Josh Duncan, Lorenzo Gordon, and Niv Berkowitz did the honors for Ashdod. The home team leapt to a 12 – 2 lead in the first three minutes of the first quarter, but the entrance of Richard Hendrix (7 points, 6 rebounds in 6 minutes of play) shored up Maccabi’s struggling defense while adding points to the scoreboard. But Hendrix, like Sofo, quickly racked up two fouls while Ashdod redoubled their efforts and grabbed a 23 -12 lead with three and a half minutes left in the period. Mačvan and Eidson brought Maccabi within seven by the end of the quarter, 28 – 21 Ashdod.
The second quarter got underway with Mačvan scoring off a slick pass from Pargo; that was soon followed by a three from co-captain Tal Burstein (assist Pargo) to make it a two-point game, 28 – 26 after forty seconds. Ashdod reopened their lead, but Burstein dropped in another three from the left wing and Guy Pnini scored a layup to keep it close, 35 – 31 Ashdod after three minutes. David Blu scored from outside the arc, then dished to Pargo who did the same; at the halfway mark the score stood at 40 – 37. A steal by Sofo set up points from the charity stripe for Pargo, and Blu delivered from downtown (assist Eidson) to give Maccabi their first lead of the game, 42 – 40. Maccabi’s defense redoubled their efforts, while Burstein, Sofo, Eidson, Mačvan, and Pargo all scored in the final three and a half minutes of the period to take the teams into halftime with Maccabi leading 52 – 46.
Maccabi was revved at the start of the third quarter, with Sofo leading the charge and tallying six points (assists by Eliyahu and Eidson) while Eliyahu contributed two (steal + assist Eidson) to make it 60 – 48 after three minutes. Carter scored for the home team, but was answered by points from Eliyahu (assist Pargo) and a show-stopping drive to the basket by Pargo, who made it 64 – 51 Maccabi close to midway through the period. Ashdod was able to whittle their deficit to eight, but Mačvan scored twice in quick succession (off two very nice dishes from Eliyahu) and added the and one to returned the lead to double digits, 73 – 62 with just under three minutes left in the period. Hendrix re-entered the game, immediately scoring two points and pulling down three rebounds. Burstein was flattened (accidentally) by Yan Martin with six seconds remaining; he scored all three foul shots to put Maccabi up 78 – 64 as the period ended.
Oliver Lafayette and Carter both scored early in the fourth quarter, but Eliyahu and Hendrix responded to preserve Maccabi’s fourteen point lead. Duncan scored from the charity stripe but Maccabi went on a 14 – 0 scoring run (points by Pargo, Eliyahu, Sofo, and Mačvan) to put Maccabi up 98 – 74 with three and a half minutes left in the game. Eidson scored five straight points, then dished to Mačvan for a layup and Burstein delivered the coup de grace with another two points to give Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv a 107 – 78 win over Maccabi Ashdod.
Box Score:
Maccabi: Mačvan 25 points (100% shooting), 7 rebounds; Pargo 16 points, 9 assists; Schortsanitis 15 points, 6 rebounds; Burstein 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists; Eidson 11 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals; Eliyahu 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists; Blu 8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists; Hendrix 7 points, 6 rebounds; Pnini 2 points.
After the game, Maccabi’s head coach David Blatt said, “We beat them by nearly 30 points, and they’re a good team that causes problems for other teams. We wanted to keep them under 70 points. As soon as we woke up, we started playing defense, and just playing better. We know that talent alone isn’t enough. We have to be disciplined and precise.”
“Ours is a good league, and there are good teams in it that can, on any given day, make life difficult for us,” the coach added. “There’s a lot of talent, as well as good coaches. The style [of play in the Israeli league] is different [from the Euroleague] and that’s a problem. We have the ability to make use of that and to reach our peak at the right time. We’re not going to let anyone come in and crush us easily. We’re going to give our all and do everything we can to be the best.”
Game MVP Milan Mačvan, who scored 25 points on perfect shooting for the night, talked about the injury to Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis: “We hope it’s not serious. We’re only thinking about that. We want to win every game. It was a good practice game for everyone before we play against Real Madrid [in the Euroleague semi-final next month in Barcelona].
