Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv improved their record in the Euroleague Top 16 to 4-0 following an emphatic 88-67 victory over Partizan Belgrade. Tyus led Maccabi’s scorers with 16 points and 9 rebounds, Rice added 15 points and 5 assists.
By Amy Samin
In their fifteenth straight victory, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Partizan Belgrade 88-67, improving their record in the Euroleague Top 16 to 4-0 and claiming first place in Group F. Alex Tyus was outstanding, with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Tyrese Rice contributed 15 points and 5 assists. Devin Smith, Joe Ingles, Yogev Ohayon, and David Blu each scored 8 points.
Starters for Maccabi were Devin Smith, Ricky Hickman, Guy Pnini, Yogev Ohayon, and Sofo Schortsanitis. Points by Sofo and a steal/dish by Smith to Pnini tied the score at 4 three minutes into the game. Sofo added a block and a slick assist in traffic to Smith, but the visitors tied it up at 6 halfway through the period. Soon after, Maccabi went on a 10-0 scoring run that included two steals (Hickman and Joe Ingles) that ended in points by Hickman and four straight points by Alex Tyus. The period ended with Maccabi leading 20-11.
Maccabi came out in the second quarter with the long guns blazing; the first three minutes saw buckets from outside the arc by Blu and Ingles, as well as points in the paint by Tyus. Maccabi went on another run with Tyus and Ohayon combining for eight, while Partizan went four minutes without a single basket. Maccabi kept on cruising, with Pnini sending a perfect alley oop to Tyus for the slam and Tyrese Rice scoring at the buzzer to end the half with Maccabi up 47-19.
The second half opened with another Pnini to Tyus combo that extended Maccabi’s lead to thirty, followed by Ingles to Tyus and then a putback slam by…Alex Tyus, making it 53-30 after three minutes of action. Partizan battled their way back into the game, but Ohayon added a steal plus layup, and Ingles scored five straight points to make it 60-38 at the halfway mark. Ohayon dished to James for the reverse dunk, and Smith added a steal/layup and 1, and the period ended with the score 68-47.
Maccabi continued to protect their lead in the fourth quarter, with Ohayon, Tyus and Rice scoring to make it 75-51 after two and a half minutes. Maccabi’s defense also worked hard, forcing a shot clock violation on the visitors, while on the other end Blu added another triple. Sylven Landesberg scored off an assist from Ohayon, and with three and a half minutes left young Israeli player Ben Altit came into the game, his first appearance in the Euroleague. Rice and Pnini wrapped up the scoring for the hosts, and in the end Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv improved their Top 16 record to 4-0 with an 88-67 win over Partizan Belgrade.
