Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv’s record in the Eurocup Last 32 dropped to 2-3 after they lost to Ljubljana 73-66 in Slovenia. Mekel led Maccabi’s scorers with 20 points.
Share Article
By Amy Samin
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv’s record in the Eurocup Last 32 dropped to 2-3 after they lost to Ljubljana 73-66 in Slovenia. Gal Mekel led Maccabi’s scorers with 20 points, Ike Ofoegbu added 14 points, while Sylven Landesberg and Taylor Rochestie contributed 8 points each.
Starters for Maccabi were Dagan Yivzori, Itay Segev, Sylven Landesberg, Ike Ofoegbu, and Gal Mekel. A pair of triples by Yivzori put Maccabi up 6-4 after two minutes. Segev scored to keep Maccabi in the lead, 10-8 halfway through the period. Elijah Millsap played his first minutes for the yellows in Europe, and Cedric Simmons made his debut with Maccabi. Ljubljana played well and took a six point lead near the end of the period, but Ofoegbu and Rochestie scored to keep Maccabi close, 19-17 to the hosts after ten minutes.
Ljubljana played well at the start of the second quarter, and ran to 25-17. Landesberg and Rochestie cut the deficit to four, but the Slovenians recovered quickly and soon claimed a 37-27 lead, causing Coach Tabak to call for a time out. Mekel finally stopped the hosts’ run and did some damage control, ending the first half with Maccabi down 45-38.
After some disorganized minutes early in the second half, Landesberg, Rochestie , and Millsap put Maccabi within one, 51-50 after five minutes. It didn’t take long for Ljubljana to reopen their lead to five. Ofoegbu made it 55-54 after a nice assist by Millsap, but the hosts stayed focused and the third quarter ended with Maccabi trailing 60-56.
A three pointer by Ofoegbu and a drive in the paint by Mekel put Maccabi back in the game, 64-63 halfway through the fourth quarter. Ljubljana responded and opened a five point lead. Mekel reached 20 points, making it 68-65 with two minutes left in the game, but it was too late. In the end, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv lost to Union Olimpija Ljubljana 73-66.
