Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv has passed the first European test of the preseason, defeating the Antwerp Giants 69-52. Smith led Maccabi’s scorers with 13 points, Ingles and Pnini added 11 each. (Photo by Walter Saenen)
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated the Antwerp Giants of Belgium in their first game of the training camp, 69-52. Maccabi’s scorers: Smith 13 points, Pnini and Ingles 11 points each, Hickman 10 points, Landesberg 9 points, Schortsanitis 8 points, Rice 3 points, Ohayon and Cohen 2 points each. Yuval Naimy and Alex Tyus played but did not score. Shawn James did not suit up. Following the game, the team met with members of the local Jewish community, posing for photos and giving autographs.
After the game, head coach David Blatt said, “It was a good experience for our first away game. We tried a lot of things, some of which worked, but there are some things that, naturally, need improvement. The most important thing is that we put in a lot of effort and the team showed the desire to play together. We’re just at the beginning, holding intensive practices in an attempt to work smart and well in the short time we’ve had since the whole team came together.”
Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, Joe Ingles, Jake Cohen and Sofo Schortsanitis started the game. The Belgians got off to a good start, taking a 5-0 lead after three minutes. Sofo and Ingles combined to put Maccabi within two, 6-4, but Antwerp responded with five straight points and Blatt put Tyrese Rice and Alex Tyus into the game. A three pointer by Guy Pnini closed the gap to 14-11, Antwerp, at the end of the period.
Maccabi kept up the momentum in the second quarter, claiming their first lead of the game two minutes into the period, 15-14, off points by Sofo, Pnini and Sylven Landesberg. A huge three by Ingles extended Maccabi’s lead halfway through the period, 25-17. Pnini and Ingles continued to rack up the points, and the teams went into the halftime break with Maccabi Electra up 34-26.
Points at the start of the third quarter gave Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv their first double digit lead of the game, 38-28, but the Belgians responded and cut that down to 42-35 midway through the period. Five straight points by Landesberg kept the hosts at bay, and Smith put Maccabi up 49-38 heading into the fourth period.
Smith continued to light up the scoreboard with five straight that put Maccabi Electra’s lead at 54-38 in the first two minutes of the final quarter. The fabulous forward went into the zone, and together with Ingles kept Maccabi’s lead comfortable, 61-49 with two and a half minutes left on the clock. Points by Rice helped wrap things up, and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated the Antwerp Giants 69-52.
