Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv is celebrating clinching a spot in the Euroleague Top 8, following their 94-92 victory over Bayern Munich in Germany. Blatt: “We’ll be ready for the series against Milan.”
By Amy Samin
After breaking the club record for three point shots in the game against Galatasaray, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv set a new season record in the Euroleague for shooting percentage from outside the arc in the game last night against Bayern Munich with 72.2% (13 of 18), good enough to take seventh place of all time (third place of all time also belongs to Maccabi, with 78.5%).
Head Coach David Blatt praised his players for the huge win over Bayern. “It was a fantastic offensive game. Congratulations to both teams for the tremendous effort invested and the high level of performance. Tonight we achieved another very important goal that we had set for ourselves at the start of the season, to qualify for the playoffs. But that is just an interim goal. To reach the Top 8 is not a simple thing – the proof lies in the number of teams that are wealthier than Maccabi that have already failed to qualify. But we’re still here.”
“Tonight we got a critical win on the road in a very tough gym,” said Blatt. “This is a very supportive home crowd; the audience is great, and even the star players of the Bayern Munich soccer team were here to offer their support. It was very important for us to win after the last few difficult weeks Maccabi has had. It shows the character of the team and the pride that our team has. The next period of time is very busy and stressful, I don’t recall another time when there was such a cramped schedule of critical games. But tonight we dealt with it very well, and our goal is to keep on doing so.”
“Milan is a great team,” Blatt continued, “there’s no doubt of that. They have an even stronger motivation than ever to reach the Final Four, since it will be held in their city, in their gym. But with all of the difficulties, I think we have a good match up against them, and we are definitely in the picture for qualifying. We’ll be ready for that series.”
“Tyrese Rice was great, here on the court that he knows so well. So many times we have suffered from having a former Maccabi player come to Nokia and make trouble for us; it was fun to be on the other side this time. Alex Tyus is continuing to play extremely well, and in general everyone contributed and played an important role. That’s the beauty of this team.”
Alex Tyus, who played a major role with 14 points and 9 rebounds, said after the game, “It was a very hard game but it’s a great and sweet victory. We came to win today, to put an end to the string of losses. Each one of the players, and all of us together as a team, were very committed and determined to get this win and the ticket to the playoffs. We fought hard in a very tough gym and we did it.”
“I’m happy we qualified for the playoffs. That was one of the goals we set for ourselves, and now we’re looking ahead. Milan is a very talented team, but we have a good match up against them, and we’re ready for a serious fight. I’m in good shape, I feel great, but it’s not just me. I get a lot of help and my teammates do a great job of getting the ball to me. I’m happy if I can help Maccabi reach the highest stages and win. I’m going to keep on working hard, and it’s important to be consistent.”
David Blu, who also contributed 14 points, with 4 of 6 shooting from downtown, said, “It was a fantastic offensive game for both teams, we had a great night from outside the arc. We’re happy and proud of this win and the fact that we’ve earned a ticket to the Top 8. We still have a long road ahead in order to reach our ultimate goal, but this was a very important step in the right direction.”
Team captain Guy Pnini, who supplied some crucial three pointers, summed things up: “It was really important to us to recover and to put an end to the string of losses. Everybody here played their hearts out tonight, which is exactly what we talked about this week. We were aggressive, sharp, and very determined. It was a crazy offensive game for both teams, but in the second half we also played better defense. Tyrese, who more than anyone is familiar with these hoops, played it well from the free throw line at the end of the game, and was just great in general.” When asked about the upcoming series against Milan, Pnini replied, “What’s important right now is the derby [against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli League] on Monday.”
