Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv fell short in their Top 16 opener in Spain, losing 81 – 71 to Regal FC Barcelona. Hendrix and Perkins were top scorers for Maccabi.
By Amy Samin
The closely-fought game between the teams was dominated by Juan Carlos Navarro, who finished with 24 points on the night.
Richard Hendrix and Doron Perkins (8 rebounds) scored 13 points each; Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 12 for Maccabi.
Jeremy Pargo, Lior Eliyahu, Chuck Eidson, Doron Perkins and Sofo Schortsanitis started the game for Maccabi, facing off against Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Kosta Perovic, Erazem Lorbek and Alan Anderson.
Two minutes had elapsed before either team scored, with Perk doing the honors with a drive to the basket; those points were answered by Navarro on the other end.
Sofo scored in the paint and Perkins drained three at the charity stripe to tie the score at 7, but another three by Navarro put the home team back on top and marked the start of a 10 – 0 scoring run by the Spaniards that ended with the score 17 – 7 with three minutes left in the period.
Richard Hendrix came into the game and sent an assist to Perk, then scored in the paint to make it 19 – 11.
Pargo executed a drive to the basket and one to make it 21 – 14, and another bucket by Hendrix closed out the quarter with Maccabi trailing 21 – 16.
A one-handed dunk by Pargo (assist Eidson) brought Maccabi within three at the start of the second quarter.
The next few minutes saw Maccabi battling to take the lead, with a drive in the lane by Pargo and a catch and shoot from David Blu bringing Maccabi within two; points from the line by co-captain Tal Burstein finally tied the score at 27, three minutes into the period.
More points from the free throw line gave Maccabi a slim lead, 30 – 27, but a three by Jaka Lakovic tied the score at 30.
The ensuing minutes saw the lead change hands with every possession, until points by Anderson put Barcelona up 37 – 35 with three minutes left in the half.
Navarro continued to demonstrate his skill, but in the final minute Hendrix narrowed the gap with a two-handed dunk; the period ended with the Spaniards leading 41 – 37.
The hosts scored two straight baskets at the start of the third period to put their lead over Maccabi at 8 points, until Sofo scored in the paint to make it 45 – 39.
He was answered by four straight points from former Maccabi player Terence Morris, who extended his team’s lead to 49 – 39.
Eidson scored on an inbounds pass and Eliyahu added points in the paint, but the Spaniards didn’t let the team from Tel Aviv narrow the deficit, until a bomb from the right corner by Guy Pnini (assist Pargo) made it 54 – 46 with four minutes left in the period.
Eliyahu scored off the glass but the reigning European champions had a response for every basket scored by the visitors.
Pnini’s three-pointer at the end of the period only succeeded in bringing Maccabi back within ten, 63 – 53 at the end of the third quarter.
The final period opened with an unsportsmanlike call against Pnini, which resulted in Rubio’s single point of the night.
Points by Pargo, Sofo and Perk brought Maccabi within seven, 68 – 61 after three minutes.
Two straight baskets by Hendrix narrowed the gap to only 4, 71 – 67 with four minutes left in the game and led Barcelona to call for a time out.
The home team re-entered the game with a vengeance, dominating the game until its conclusion in an 81 – 71 defeat for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at the hands of Regal FC Barcelona.
Box Score:
Maccabi: Hendrix 13 points, 6 rebounds; Perkins 13 points, 8 rebounds; Schortsanitis 12 points, 3 rebounds; Pargo 9 points, 5 rebounds; Pnini 7 points; Burstein 4 points, 3 rebounds; Eidson 4 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists; Blu 3 points.
After the game, Maccabi head coach David Blatt said, “It was a tough game, just as we anticipated. It took us awhile to get into the game, and that was my biggest concern from the outset.
We chased after them and even managed to take the lead for awhile, but the energy that cost us took its toll in the end.
Our guys fought hard and really wanted this win, we proved that we really do belong at the highest level in Europe; it’s just a shame that we made a few bad decisions and that cost us the win.”
“Navarro is a great player, he really hurt us.
A few teams had the luxury this season of playing against Barcelona without Navarro; that’s why Barcelona had some less than great results.
We’ll need to deal with him better in the next game.
Barcelona is a really great team, but we’re also at the top level – it’s not such a disaster.”
