Pini Gershon and his players hope tonight (20:45) to assure their third Euroleague F4 in a row. A loss will send the teams to decisive game next Thursday in Tel Aviv
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv players trained last night at the Peace & Freindship Stadium in Piraeus ahead of Game 2 in the Euroleague quarter final playoffs vs Olympiakos tonight (20:45). Both teams arrived yesterday afternoon at Athens airport in different flights. Maccabi players are in high spirits after their 87-78 win at The NOKIA Arena on Tuesday. They realize that a win tonight will send them to the Final Four in Prague on April 28. Olympiacos players and their Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas, are optimistic that the ticket to the F4 will be decided next Thursday in Tel Aviv. They are sure that the 12,000 supporters at the Peace & Friendship Stadium, will put heavy pressure on the Maccabi players. Maccabi has one big advantage – experience. Derrick Sharp has already played in five F4,. Tal Burstein & Anthony Parker in four, Nikola Vujcic & Maceo Baston in two and Yaniv Green once. Coach Pini Gershon led Maccabi in four F4 and Dan Shamir was his assistance twice. Maccabi hope to continue with the same defense they played in Tel Aviv and to get more points from their back court players Anthony Parker, Will Silomon & Derrick Sharp. Expect an aggressive, close game. Patience will be the name of the game with a hope to close things tonight.
