Maccabi finishes second in the “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” preseason tournament with a defeat to the Italians. Wilbekin led The Yellows with 17 points. On Tuesday: Derby in the Winner Cup quarter-finals
After the game, Maccabi took part in the closing ceremony as they will fly back to Israel tomorrow (Monday). On Tuesday they will face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Winner Cup quarter-finals at the Drive-In Arena.
Scored for Maccabi: Scottie Wilbekin 17 points, Nate Wolters 11 points, 5 rebounds & 4 assists, Elijah Bryant, Tyler Dorsey, Tarik Black and Othello Hunter each scored 7 points, Jake Cohen 5 points, Deni Avdija (5 rebounds), Yovel Zoosman (4 rebounds) 3 points each, John DiBartolomeo 2 points. Sandy Cohen played but didn’t score. Scored For Milano: Vladimir Micov 18 points, Sergio Rodriguez 15 points, Jeff Brooks 11 points.
With Quincy Acy and Omri Casspi out again due to injury, Coach Sfairopolos opened the game with the same starting five as he did against Panathinaikos – Black at center, Deni Avdija and Jake Cohen at forward and guards Scottie Wilbekin and Nate Wolters.
Vladimir Micov and Shelvin Mack opened the second quarter with two straight buckets for Milano to increase their advantage. Wilbekin with a three-pointer and Jake Cohen with an easy bucket narrowed down the reds lead to 4, 29:25. The Yellow & Blue moved in front just before half time when Othello Hunter drew a foul and scored to give Maccabi a 39:38 edge.
Maccabi continued with the same momentum from the end of the second quarter, Scottie Wilbekin with four straight points and a Nate Walters three increased Maccabi’s lead to 9. The Italians with a run of their own cut the Yellows lead down to 2, 59:57, going into the final quarter.
Amedeo Della Valle with another three-pointer, continued his great game to give Ettore Messina’s team a 63:59 lead. With a 6 point advantage for the Italians, Wilbekin hit a big shot from outside to keep the game tight. Four minutes to the final whistle, Micov with a three increased their advantage 73:65. Maccabi cut the lead by half 73:69, but Milano was able to hold their lead to beat Maccabi 78:69 to win the “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” preseason tournament.
