Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv’s record in the Eurocup dropped to 2-1 after losing to Unics Kazan 92-82 at Menorah Mivtachim Arena. Smith led Maccabi’s scorers with 20 points.
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By Amy Samin
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv’s record in the Eurocup dropped to 2-1 after losing to Unics Kazan 92-82 at Menorah Mivtachim Arena. Devin Smith led Maccabi’s scorers with 20 points. Guy Pnini added 15 points, Sylven Landesberg scored 12 points, and Taylor Rochestie contributed 11 points and 6 assists. Keith Langford was outstanding for the Russians with 30 points.
Starters for Maccabi were Devin Smith, Brian Randle, Sylven Landesberg, Taylor Rochestie, and Arinze Onuaku. The Russian club opened the game with two three pointers and took a 6-2 lead, but Landesberg, Rochestie, and Onuaku made sure to put the hosts on top, 10-8 after four minutes, while also playing good defense at the other end. Kazan reclaimed the lead, but a triple by Rochestie and points from the foul line by Trevor Mbakwe made it 17-14, Maccabi with two and a half minutes left in the period. Itay Segev added a dunk, but the visitors came back to claim a 24-23 lead at the end of ten minutes.
Smith and Onuaku combined to put Maccabi up 29-26 early in the second quarter. Yogev Ohayon scored from downtown, and Smith added back to back treys that extended Maccabi’s lead to 40-33 just past the halfway mark. Kazan showed signs of coming back, but points by Rochestie, and Ike Ofoegbu and another dunk by Segev gave Maccabi a 47-41 lead with two minutes left in the half. Kazan closed the gap in the final seconds, and the half ended with Maccabi leading by one, 49-48.
The Russians dominated at the start of the second half, running to 55-49 in the first two minutes. Langford was unstoppable for Kazan, and halfway through the quarter the visitors led 62-54. Landesberg with five straight points, Smith, and Guy Pnini from outside the arc tied the score at 64 with just under three minutes on the clock. Again the Russians took the lead, and the period ended with Maccabi down 71-68.
The momentum stayed with the Russians in the final period, as their lead grew to 13 after five minutes, 85-72. Pnini added two more three pointers, but Maccabi struggled in the paint and couldn’t find a way to hold Langford (who reached 30 points) in check. In the end, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost to Unics Kazan 92-82.
