Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 
CSKA Moscow Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
CSKA Moscow
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Thursday at 21:00: Maccabi faces CSKA Moscow
With a perfect 6-0 home record in the EuroLeague, the Yellow & Blue host the European Champions. Sfairopoulos: "I want our fans to create a great atmosphere and to push our team to the next level"
Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv will host CSKA Moscow on Thursday night as part of the 13th fixture of the EuroLeague season (21:00, live on Sport5 – channel 55). After six home games, The Yellow & Blue are undefeated in Menorah Mivtachim Arena as they’ll face against the European Champions who sit in fifth place holding an 8:4 record. Maccabi will miss the injured John DiBartolomeo, who went through a chest operation, Nate Wolters (thigh), and Omri Casspi (knee).
Coach Giannis Sfairopoulos opened the pre-game press conference wishing a speedy recovery to Co-Owner David Federman, who went through heart procedure: “On behalf of the team, players, and staff, I want to wish best of health to Mr. David Federman that went through surgery. We are happy that everything went well, and we are waiting for him to come back home”.
“We have a very important game, like every game on our home court”, Said coach Sfairopoulos. “We play against an excellent team that has quality, depth, experience, and they are the EuroLeague holders. Mike James is a big part of their game, but if you see, they have a lot of players in good shape that help them. We can’t stop only one player because then different players will make the difference, which means we have to face them as a team and not allow them easy points”.
“On the other end, we want to play our game, attack their weaknesses, play smart, and to make the right decisions. Once again, it’s going to be a sold-out game, and we want our fans to create a great atmosphere and to push our team to the next level helping us to fight against a very good team”.
The coach explained about the team’s injuries: “The most severe one is John’s (DiBartolomeo), we all support him, and he has our heart and feelings for him. I don’t want to talk about injuries now because I don’t want people to think we are looking for excuses. I believe in my players, with them, we can cover these serious misses, and the only thing we have to do is to play with our hearts, and if we do that, everything will go well. We are all together, and we will fight to cover their absences but also try to do our best to win the game”.
“It’s just another game, to be honest”, Said Othello Hunter towards facing his Ex club. “There is another team in front of us, and we want to win and compete against them. I have good memories of my time in CSKA, but I’m in a different place now. I can’t think about the past too much, and I’m always excited to see my friends, but when we get on the court, it’s a battle”.
“Different players have to step up, we have 11 guys, and we are going to need everybody”, Told Tyler Dorsey to reporters. We will need people to play a bigger role, be ready for a big game, and we have to take care of home court. The only change in my role is that I’ll play more point guard, bring up the ball more, and control the pace of the game that way”.
Maccabi surpasses CSKA Moscow after a tremendous 90:80 win
The Yellow & Blue stay undefeated at home after a heroic win over the European champions. Wilbekin and Hunter led Maccabi with 22 and 20 points respectively
Empire: Without Casspi, Black, Wolters, and DiBartolomeo, Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv overcame the injuries to beat the European champions, CSKA Moscow 90:80. With the win, the Yellow & Blue stated that at home there is no messing around. Scottie Wilbekin continued his incredible form with 22 points and a career-high 9 assists, alongside ex CSKA, Othello Hunter who ended his night with a career-best 20 points, and 7 rebounds.
Maccabi opened with Scottie Wilbekin, Yovel Zoosman, Angelo Caloiaro, Quincy Acy, and Othello Hunter in the starting five. The Yellow & Blue began the game in a high tempo with Quincy Acy being the leading executer, especially on the offensive end with two three’s and 8 points. In the final minutes of the first, Mike James got into his usual groove with Joel Bolomboy, who led the reds on a 7:0 run to give the European champions a 29:20 advantage after the first ten minutes.
The run extended into the second quarter up to 13:3 that gave them a double-digit lead. On the other end, Maccabi stayed in it with Bryant hitting his second three-pointer, and Wilbekin providing another offensive showing reaching double digits in points alongside six assists. Tyler Dorsey beat the halftime buzzer from deep for a 45:52 deficit at the half.
With the start of the second half, the reds increased their advantage up to 11, but from that moment, Maccabi elevated their game. Hunter scored three baskets, Bryant produced efficient minutes off the bench, and Zoosman finished a transition layup to complete a 13:0 run. That gave Giannis Sfairopoulos’s squad their first advantage of the night on their way to a fabulous 66:64 lead going into the deciding period.
The hosts showed that run wasn’t a fluke, Wilbekin fed his friends with assists on his way to a EuroLeague career-high 9 assists. However, James answered on the other end to pull his team back in it. Hunter, with a couple of clutch baskets and Zoosman’s free throws, gave the Yellow & Blue a 90:80 win over the Russians squad, their first home win in a decade.
