Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv soundly defeated Union Olimpija 83 – 62 and secured a spot in the quarterfinals. Pargo and Perkins (each with 16 points and 7 assists) were on fire in the second half. Some members of the group from Israel were attacked after the game.
By Amy Samin
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv qualified for the Top 8 (best of 5 quarterfinals) in the Euroleague with a decisive 83 – 62 win over Union Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia.
Pargo, Perkins, Eliyahu and Blu dominated the game in the second half after being down by eight at halftime.
Fans of Maccabi’s Facebook page selected Jeremy Pargo as the game’s MVP.
In other Group F news, Barcelona also reached the quarterfinals after defeating Lottomatica Roma.
Next week, Maccabi will face Barcelona in Nokia Arena in the fight for the top spot in the group.
After the game, Kineret Blatt, wife of Maccabi head coach David Blatt, some family members, and a number of Maccabi fans were attacked by Slovenian fans when they returned to their hotel.
One of the Israelis was injured in the head.
Maccabi’s starters were Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Doron Perkins, Chuck Eidson, Lior Eliyahu and Jeremy Pargo.
They faced off against Vlado Ilievski, Kenny Gregory, Kevinn Pinkney, Damir Markota, and Saso Ozbolt.
The game got underway with a three-pointer by Perk at the top of the arc, but the home team was quick to respond.
Points from the charity stripe by Pinkney gave Ljubljana a 6 – 5 lead after two minutes.
Sofo and Eliyahu scored to keep Maccabi close, but at the halfway mark Ljubljana led 14 – 10.
Pargo and Milan Mačvan scored to tie the game at 14, but Ljubljana scored again.
Mačvan scored twice more (the second time off a slick fake shot/assist by Pargo) to put Maccabi up 18 – 16 with a minute and a half left.
Points by Perkins and Sofo gave Maccabi a 22 – 19 lead at the end of the first period.
The home team looked sharp in the second quarter, going on a 10 – 0 scoring run in the first two minutes of the period, but they were stopped by a two-handed dunk from Richard Hendrix (assist Eidson).
Eliyahu dropped in a fade-away and David Blu scored from the right corner on an inbounds pass from Pargo to make it 33 – 29.
A Pargo fade-away put Maccabi within two, 33 – 31 with three minutes left in the half, but Ljubljana continued to score while stopping Maccabi from the field, and the half ended with the home team in the lead, 41 – 33.
Maccabi came out fast and strong in the third quarter, with four quick points from Perkins and Pargo putting Maccabi within four, 41 – 37 after a minute and a half.
Points by Markota from the foul line interrupted Maccabi’s run, but only temporarily.
Eliyahu scored four straight and Blu sent home a huge shot from beyond downtown to put Maccabi back in the lead, 44 – 43.
Pargo delivered another of his stunning layups and Perk scored a dunk on a fast-break (assist Eidson).
Maccabi showed renewed intensity on defense, as well, holding Ljubljana scoreless for four minutes.
Perkins scored two more from the free throw line to make it 48 – 43, Maccabi with four minutes left in the period.
The team from Tel Aviv continued to score while stopping Ljubljana cold; the score for the quarter was 23 – 8, Maccabi; the game’s score after three periods was 56 – 49.
Maccabi’s domination continued in the final quarter of the game, with Eidson, Eliyahu, and Perkins all scoring in the paint, making it 63 – 51 after three minutes.
At that point in the game Maccabi had 17 assists and 7 steals, but they weren’t finished yet.
After forcing a shot clock violation on their hosts, Maccabi continued to celebrate at their end of the court, both in terms of excellent ball movement and points: Pargo and Eliyahu scored in the paint and Blu scored again from outside the arc; at the midway point in the period Maccabi’s lead was 70 – 51.
Blu continued to impress, scoring two more from three-point range and even drawing applause from some of the Slovenians in the crowd.
With less than two minutes remaining in the game, the score stood at 82 – 54.
Gregory scored a basket and Shermadini scored a two and one to narrow the gap slightly for the hosts, but it was too little too late, as was Ilievski’s three-pointer with seconds left.
The coaches shook hands as time ran out on Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s 83 – 62 victory over Union Olimpija Ljubljana.
The win insured that Maccabi would compete in the Euroleague quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
Box Score:
Maccabi: Pargo 16 points, 7 assists; Perkins 16 points, 7 assists; Eliyahu 16 points; Blu 15 points (5 for 8 from three point range); Eidson 8 points, 6 steals; Mačvan and Schortsanitis 5 points each; Hendrix 2 points.
