Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 
ASVEL Villeurbanne Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
ASVEL Villeurbanne
Made/Att
Made/Att
Made/Att
DEF OFF TOT
CM RV
FV AG
Thursday at 21:00: Maccabi hosts Villeurbanne
After three straight EuroLeague road games, the Yellow & Blue head back home to face the French champions (live on channel 55)
The first matchup between the two sides occurred in 1978, but since the start of the EuroLeague format in 2000, the teams only met twice as Maccabi swept both contests in the historic 2004/05 season.
“Tomorrow we face a very athletic team that plays with high energy, that hustles on both ends of the court, and that shows they are a dangerous team because they’ve recorded five wins this season”, Said coach Giannis Sfairopoulos at the pre-game press conference. “On the other end, we come into this game with three straight losses (2 EuroLeague, 1 State Cup), so we need to react, to fight harder on the court, and play better defense because, in the last couple of games, our defense wasn’t enough. Our primary goal now is to add another W to our win column, it means we need to focus on our side and show something different on the court with the help of our fans that are expected to sell-out the arena”.
“We don’t know how Tarik Black, Omri Casspi, and Elijah Bryant, who sprained his ankle at practice. I’m not very optimistic that they will play, and if they practice without pain, we will use them”, Answered Sfairopoulos about the injury status of his players. “If they do feel pain, I don’t want to risk a bigger injury. We don’t want to risk them and have them be out longer”.
“Villeurbanne is a good offensive team that attacks strong the offensive boards, we need to put pressure on their ball handlers and make them uncomfortable right away, and that will help our offense as well”, Said Nate Wolters to the reporters. “We have to get back to what we were doing defensively, as we haven’t been as good, giving up 90+ points. We are playing at our home court, and hopefully, we will play with energy, feed off our fans, and get back to our principals of fighting and playing hard”.
Maccabi demolishes Villeurbanne 93:62
The Yellow & Blue come back home and end the two-game EuroLeague skid with an incredible performance, as they improve their record to 7:4
Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv get back on their winning ways after a total team display 93:62 over the french champions Villeurbanne, as they raise their record to 7:4 in the EuroLeague. Jake Cohen (EuroLeague high) and Scottie Wilbekin lead the way with 16 points each, Nate Wolters added 13 points and Angelo Caloiaro in his season debut ended his night with 9 points and 5 rebounds.
Nate Wolters, Scottie Wilbekin, Deni Avdija, Quincy Acy, and Othello Hunter opened in Giannis Sfairopoulos’s starting five. Jordan Taylor scored the first two points of the game for the visitors, on the other end, a great offensive play between Wilbekin and Hunter, helped the center find Acy for an open three, to give the Yellow & Blue a 5:2 lead. Wilbekin scored his fourth point, 9:4 Maccabi. David Lighty brought the french squad back to an 11:11 tie with a three-point play. Sfairopoulos’s subs came in and brought new energy to the court in Menora Mivtachim Arena, as John DiBartolomeo found Yovel Zoosman for a transition three to put Maccabi on top by 5. Ismael Bako scored two for the visitors to end the first quarter at 20:17 for the Yellow & Blue.
At the start of the second quarter, DiBartolomeo found Zoosman in the corner, and the guard hit it, 23:17 to the hosts. Caloiaro slammed it down after a Zoosman steal for his first two points of the season. 4:30 to the end of the first half, Wilbekin hit a shot from behind the arc to give the Yellow & Blue a double-digit advantage, 36:24. Tonye Jekiri helped Villeurbanne to reduce the lead to single digits at the half, 43:34.
Wolters opened the second half with a floater to bring the hosts back up by 11, and the Yellow & Blue defense stoped the french squad scoreless for three minutes as Wolters found Zoosman for his third three-pointer of the night, to go up 57:40. With a second left to the quarter, DiBartolomeo saw Wilbekin wide open who hit it from deep, to give the hosts a 20 point lead going into the final period, 67:47.
After allowing a point from the line, Maccabi went on an 11:0 run with Caloiaro and Cohen leading the charge, 78:48. With 3:36 to the end of the game, coach Sfairopoulos took Caloiaro out of the game as he got a standing ovation from the home crowd after an incredible return. Sandy Cohen joined the show with two bumming dunks, as the Yellow & Blue come back to the winning ways with a big 93:62 win.
