Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv will face Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow in one of the two semifinal games of the Euroleague Final Four in Milan next month. The game will take place on 16 May 2014 at 6:00 pm local time (7:00 pm in Israel). In the other semifinal game, Barcelona will square off against Real Madrid.
By Amy Samin
The die is cast for the Final Four. In the first semifinal game on 16 May 2014 (6:00 pm in Italy, 7:00 pm in Israel), Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv will play CSKA Moscow, the strong Russian team coached by Ettore Messina and featuring former Maccabi star Jeremy Pargo. The second semifinal game (9:00 pm in Italy, 10:00 pm in Israel) will see the top two Spanish teams face off: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Euroleague management honored Maccabi’s request that the team’s religiously observant fans who will be at the game in Milan be taken into consideration when scheduling the time of the game, which will be played on a Friday evening. The earlier time slot means the game should be over before Shabbat begins in Italy at 8:30 pm.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s head coach David Blatt had this to say about the opponent awaiting the team in the semifinal: “This was the result we expected. CSKA Moscow put on a superb performance, and is the clear favorite, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid. We are definitely excited to play against CSKA again and are looking forward to the game. This is going to be an exceptional Final Four.”
