The Yellow & Blue summarized the win over Panathinaikos. Sfairopoulos: “I’m happy with the way we fought in the end. Every win in the EuroLeague is very important. Wilbekin: “I just try to do whatever I can to help the team win”
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv continues their great EuroLeague stretch beating Panathinaikos 89:81 at Menorah Mivtachim Arena as part of the 16th EuroLeague game of the 2020/21 season. The Israeli champions improve their record to 7:9 after winning their last 4 of 5, gaining ground in the standings.
Scottie Wilbekin was Maccabi’s difference-maker in the fourth quarter scoring 12 of his 22 points. Othello Hunter contributed 13 points and seven rebounds while adding a strong presence on both ends of the court, and Dragan Bender continued his hot stretch adding 9 points and a career-best 3 blocks. Elijah Bryant, Omri Casspi, Chris Jones, and Angelo Caoliaro performed well in the win.
“I am proud that we won the game, we didn’t panic, we controlled the game, and I’m happy with the way we fought in the end”, Said head coach Giannis Sfairopoulos after the win. “Every win in the EuroLeague is very important as it isn’t easy to play these types of games, especially in these conditions without fans. We had a great first half, and in the second half, their reaction was normal, but I think this win is very important”.
“I just try to do whatever I can to help the team win. Last game, it wasn’t scoring, but this game was scoring”, Told Scottie Wilbekin who led the Yellow & Blue in the fourth quarter. “We just need to stay focused, not be happy after winning a couple of games because it’s easy to do that after the start we had. It feels good to win these games, but we can’t be happy, and we have to keep working on getting better”.
Dragan Bender, who continued his great stretch, added his observations about the victory: “In the second half, we worked with what they gave us, Scottie scored a lot of points. As long as we stay on the same page as a team, we can achieve great things this season. We have different energy these past couple of weeks, with everyone being on the same page. We started strong from the first minute, and as long as we keep doing that, we will have games like this every night”.
