Barcelona 
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv Barcelona
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
“Maybe it’s time to get a win in a difficult place”
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv will play their fourth away game in five games in the the EuroLeague (Thursday, 22:00 local). Goodes: “We need to be at our best to get away with the win”
Without Jeremy Pargo who is still out due to his back injury, Maccabi’s coaching staff got some good news with Scottie Wilbekin joining the team’s practices at the Balaugrana. Throughout the years Maccabi managed to win only twice at the Palau Balaugrana. Maccabi won their first away game against Barca in 1982 and in 2005 thanks to a tremendous performance by Tal Burstein. The yellows will try to end the 13 year old drought this Thursday.
“We started off with an easy practice since we flew in early and it was very important to do a calmer practice”, said assistant coach Guy Goodes. “There’s no doubt that this game is different from our derby. This is a tough game against a very talented team that has a lot of depth. We need to be at our best to not make the mistakes which we did against Olympiacos, mistakes that were made due to lack of focus, in order to get away with the win”.
“This is a tough home court with a great atmosphere l, the fans are pushing their team and it’s very hard to hear one another” Goodes emphasized. “ it’s a gym that if you want to get a win you have to be very focused from the beginning on the little things, execute the game plan in the best possible way and to shoot well from outside”.
“Last year we came here and it didn’t end up well”, Goodes added. “This year we have a roster that can compete in these places, the derby gave us a good feeling, but the EuroLeague is the EuroLeague and the domestic league is the domestic league. Maybe it’s time to get a win ina difficult place”.
Barcelona made an almost complete overhaul to their roster from last year as they added Chris Singleton (Panathinaikos), Kevin Pangos (Zalgiris Kaunas), Artem Pustovy (Obradorio), Kyle Kuric (Zenit st.Petersburg),the Catalans also got Kevin Seraphin and Adam Hanga back from injuries.
Maccabi loses 74:58 to Barcelona on the road
The first half was very close however the locals took control over the game in the third quarter not allowing Maccabi to bounce back. Angelo Caloiaro scored 11P, Johnny O'Bryant added 10P & 6R
Coach Spahija’s starting five: Wilbekin, Kane, Roll, O’Bryant and Tyus. Kane was the first to score at the beginning of the game but Claver and Tomic reacted for the Catalans (4:3). Wilbekin and Cohen capitalized on the offensive end to give Maccabi the 4:7 lead, but this time Singleton giving Barcelona the lead (9:7). Claver scored a transition three to put the hosts ahead 16:11 forcing coach Spahija to call for a timeout. Tyus scored a free throw but Hanga scored both of his to finish the first quarter with the hosts having the 18:12 lead.
Tyus scored at the beginning of the second quarter, Kuric scored from deep but Caloiaro answered right back with a corner three (21:17). Tyus brought Maccabi to within a striking distance but Barcelona kept their composure
en route of a 25:19 lead. O’Bryant and Ray completed a 5:0 run forcing coach Pesic to call for a timeout with the scoreboard showing 25:24. O’Bryant and Kane gave Maccabi the 28:31 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first half. Claver and Tomic scored for the hosts who took back the 32:31 lead, Tyus scored a high post jumper but Claver had the final say in the first half having the 34:33 edge.The locals started the third quarter with a 10:2 run (44:35) forcing coach Spahija to call for a timeout. Claver increased Barca’s lead to 48:35, Maccabi tried to comeback but Heurtel and Kuric kept Maccabi at a
safety distance as the scoreboard showed 56:40. Kuric made sure Barcelona will finish the third quarter on a high note having the 59:40 lead.Roll was the first to score at the beginning of the fourth quarter but Seraphin reacted with four points to put the Catalans ahead 63:42 forcing coach Spahija to call for a timeout. Heurtel’s floater was answered with back to back three by Roll and Caloiaro (67:50) with just over five minutes remaining in the game. John-Di scored a corner three pointer to trim Barca’s lead to 69:55 but the locals reacted again as they secured the 74:58 win.
