Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv began 2025 on the wrong foot, suffering a 75-98 loss on the road against Partizan Belgrade. Oded Kattash’s squad struggled to cope with the high energy and great talent of the Serbian team, who were boosted by the support of 20,000 fans at the Belgrade Arena, and dropped to a 5-14 record in the EuroLeague.
It was a tough evening for the Maccabees, who fell behind early and tried to chase Zeljko Obradovic’s squad throughout. At the start of the second half, it seemed as though Maccabi was making a comeback, thanks in large part to Tamir Blatt’s (16 points) and John DiBartolomeo’s (15) long range shooting. However, after reducing the deficit to 8 points, a local 16-1 sealed the game.
The yellow-and-blue turned the ball over 19 times, their highest tally this season, and enabled Partizan to dish 13 assists. Maccabi, still without big man Jasiel Rivero (thigh), had a poor night from 2-point range, making only 12-of-34 attempts.
On Monday, the Israeli champions will visit Hapoel Afula and will try to bounce back at their expense.
